• MCAs said residents living in remote areas of the county are yet to get proper information on how they can protect themselves from the disease.
• Mwiyogo MCA said there was a need to establish reliable communication so that people can be enlightened on the pandemic.
Image: /EUTYCAS MUCHIRI
Nyeri MCAs on Wednesday urged the county government to establish effective ways of sensitising residents on Covid-19 prevention.
MCAs said residents living in remote areas of the county were yet to get proper information on how they can protect themselves from the disease.
The country has reported seven cases after three more were confirmed Wednesday by Health CS Mutahi Kagwe.
Mwiyogo MCA Michael Karumba said the fact that people were not congregating made it difficult to educate them.
He said there was a need to establish reliable mediums of communication so that people could be enlightened on the pandemic.
Magutu MCA Pauline Wanjira said community health workers should be engaged to sensitise and train members of the public on coronavirus.
Nominated MCA William Thiong’o said matatu crews were only sanitising people when boarding the vehicles on stages but failed to do so for those picked on the way.
“This morning, I followed some matatus and noted that they were dropping and picking passengers without sanitising those boarding. They are only sanitising passengers at the bus parks but not those picked on the way,” he said.
Majority whip Sebastian Theuri and the Wamagana MCA proposed that mourning time after people lose their loved ones be shortened.
“When people lose their loved ones, they do not need to spend a week preparing for burials. We need to spend the shortest time possible to avoid those big crowds,” he said.
The MCAs were debating Governor Mutahi Kahiga’s communication on the state of the county preparedness on coronavirus.
The governor was set to address the assembly, but he instead sent an apology through his personal assistant.
Speaker John Kaguchia said the request to invite the governor to address the assembly was reached at a meeting of the assembly business committee, the health committee and the county assembly leadership.
“We have actually been waiting to receive the governor to address us on the state of Nyeri county preparedness on the coronavirus,” the speaker said.
During the assembly sitting, the speaker started by ordering the sergeant at arms to ensure social distance is enforced among members and the media. Members of the public were not allowed in to avoid congestion.
Masks and surgical gloves were given out to those willing to wear them while accessing the assembly.
In his communication delivered by majority leader James Kanyugo, the governor said the county government was undertaking countywide training of health workers in public, private and faith-based facilities on Covid-19.
“The department of health is routinely doing spot checks at supermarkets, banks, matatu terminals and other public facilities and sensitising residents on the importance of washing hands,” he said.
The county has procured 7,300 sanitisers worth Sh1.2million from the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority.
Others include 1,500 litres of liquid multi-purpose washing soap worth Sh324,000 for all 212 facilities from local suppliers, 10,000 litres of concentrated multi-purpose soap worth Sh671,000 and 30 oxygen flow meters.
Edited by A. Ndung'u