Red-flag over Taita Corona surge, calls for enforcement
Taita-Taveta County administration has raised a red flag over the surge in Covid-19 cases in the region and directed the county enforcement team and security agencies to launch an operation to enforce mandatory wearing of face masks in public.
Governor Granton Samboja said it was worrying that as coronavirus cases in the region were galloping, most residents had adopted a laid-back attitude and displayed flagrant disregard of all directives issued by the Ministry of Health.
Speaking at cin Voi on Saturday during the commissioning of the refurbished outpatient unit, the governor expressed his shock at how casually the residents were taking the threat posed by Covid-19 pandemic.
In a rare moment of candidness, the governor disclosed that he had been on self-quarantine after he was declared a primary contact to people who tested positive for Covid-19.
Primary contact
“I have been away for a while because I was a primary contact to people who tested positive. Covid-19 is real and people should stop taking it lightly,” Samboja said.
The governor has been driving himself to events as tests on all the county executive staff are being carried out.
Samboja added that the isolation ward at Moi County Referral Hospital was already full and urged everyone to take every necessary precaution to keep themselves safe.
Governor Samboja’s concerns confirmed earlier reports that senior officials in the county government including some members of County Executive Committee Members (CECMs) had tested positive for the virus.
Samboja underscored the threat posed by Covid-19 and cited the case one of his closest friends who was admitted to the ICU but added that he has since been discharged and is recuperating at home.
He said after consultations with the county commissioner, they had agreed to launch a joint operation to enforce mandatory wearing of masks in public
“The operation to enforce mask-wearing starts from next week. We have distributed over a hundred thousand facemasks yet our people are not wearing them,” he said.
Since the first case of Covid-19 was reported in the county in May, the numbers have always been in single digits.
This was attributed to the stringent health measures the national and county government took to screen and check the possible spread. - KNA
