29 people put under forced quarantine in Murang’a County

A total of 29 people have been put in forced quarantine in Murang’a County according to Governor Mwangi wa Iria.

One other person is currently been sort after. This is after the individual arrived from Kambwe area of Kiharu from Italy on Monday and hasn’t been observing self quarantine.

“It’s very careless for family members to hide a person who has arrived from overseas at this time,” stated Wa Iria.

Wa Iria further said they have been receiving many calls from locals informing them of visitors including those from abroad who failed to observe self-quarantine.

He said five people travelled to the county last week and officers were forced to search for them and forcefully quarantine them.

Family members of the visitors were also picked and put on quarantine. The Governor siting this incident condemned relatives for hiding their kin.

The Governor castigated the directive of telling passengers from overseas to observe self-quarantine saying such a directive can easily be ignored by many.

The governor said the Ministry of Health should put a forced quarantine even if it will have to set aside a hostel to contain all visitors for 14 days.

“When people are released from airport and asked to observe self-quarantine, it’s just a joke, as many of them ignore the directive and end up interacting with their people at home,” said Wa Iria.

The county has since banned the movement of public vehicles in and out of the county in an effort to prevent COVID-19 transmission.

Wa Iria said county askaris and public health officers will be deployed at bus termini to ensure only people with emergency cases are allowed to move out of the county.

“We have to take stringent measures and save people from contracting this disease. Preventing people from movement is painful but it’s an effective way to contain the spread of coronavirus,” stressed Wa Iria.

Speaking during a press conference in Murang’a town, the Governor observed that in recent past there have been many people travelling especially from Nairobi to upcountry arguing that move puts many residents at risk of contracting the disease.

Meanwhile, the exercise of fumigating all open-air markets within the county kicked off on Sunday.

The county officials will be spraying chemicals at all markets once per three days to help contain the spread of the disease.

The governor challenged all traders to be on the lookout and maintain hygiene.

“We are not planning to close our markets but if the traders will not follow up laid down measures, we will not have an option but to lock down the markets. All traders should ensure they have water all the time for their customers to wash their hands,” he added.