NMS to offer Nairobians free coronavirus mass testing this weekend
Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) will this weekend kick off mass testing for coronavirus across the city estates following fears of a surge in new infections after the recent easing of restrictions.
NMS director for Health Dr. Ouma Oluga said the exercise will cover all the constituencies and has been informed by the fact that Nairobi remains the epicentre of Covid-19 infections across the country.
“Part of how to tackle a pandemic is by testing as many people as possible so that you are able to mitigate, isolate and treat among other interventions. Therefore, if we look at all these, Nairobi is the epicentre,” he told People Daily.
He said that with nearly five million residents, Nairobi accounts for almost 10 per cent of the national population hence the need for continuous testing.
He attributed the rising cases to the recent easing of restrictions and the reopening of schools which pose serious challenges to efforts meant to contain the killer virus.
Easing of restrictions, according to Oluga, has stretched the available testing points hence the need to give a chance for as many people as possible to test afresh.
“With no designated public places where people such as the common man can go and take a test, we decided to expand the programme across the county to enable people get Covid certification easily,” he said.
The targeted testing is part of NMS ongoing surveillance to ascertain whether the cases are indeed going down or not, he said, adding that: “It is not mass testing per se, but more of targeted testing because so far people who come for testing are either those who feel symptomatic, exposed or want to use the certificate for travelling.
Oluga declined to give details about the actual cost of the exercise, saying there was no specific financial resources allocated to the programme as most of what will require investments is shared by partners.
For instance, the NMS, he said, is running a laboratory located at Mama Lucy Hospital through the National Command Centre under Maj-Gen Ayub Matiri.
“They supported us to get the equipment and reagents. We have also been working closely with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) where we take any excess samples for testing,” he added.
