NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 19 – The government is set to roll out random screening of members of the public for COVID-19, a global pandemic that has claimed 9,000 lives, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said on Thursday.
The exercise, to be carried out by health officials alongside security officers, he said will commence on Saturday.
Mutahi made the announcement while noting no suspected case had tested positive in the past 24 hours, the number of those infected standing at 7 as reported on Wednesday.
Of the 7 patients, six are Kenyans and a Burundian, whom he said “doing well under the observation of the Ministry of Health and Kenyatta National Hospital staffs. It is good to note that all these cases have been imported outside the country.”
He said the 7 are being re-tested to see whether they have turned negative.
Some 8 people at the Mbagathi isolation facility, the CS said, had turned out negative and were being processed ahead of being discharged.
The Government has traced some 145 who met the people who tested positive for the virus.
“We have screed over 600,000 people who have entered our country from our entry points,” he said.
To ensure the disease has not been spread further, he urged Kenyans to continue maintaining high hygiene standards.
“To this effect, the government has directed the involvement of the Nyumba Kumi leaders, sub-chief and chiefs in ensuring compliance of this disease,” he said.
-Party animals warned-
The CS warned Kenyans working at home from resulting in clubs since it means they are still at risk of getting infected.
He warned them “it is not a deadly season. It is time to fight a deadly virus.”
“Sometimes one is baffled by some of the reactions we are getting,” the CS pointed out.
He warned that the Government will soon start “taking action” against institutions and facilities hosting such people, despite the threat of coronavirus.
“By congregating in entertainment joints, bars, and restaurants, we will beat the very purpose for which they were asked to work at home,” he cautioned. “We are seeking citizen responsibility.”
-Man arrested and isolated at Mbagathi-
The CS revealed that a man who recently arrived in the country from abroad had been arrested from a city hotel and forcefully quarantined at Mbagathi isolation facility.
He warned such fate will befall any person who will defy the government order to quarantine.
Already, authorities have introduced a mandatory legal form for all the people returning from abroad, committing to self- quarantine.
