• Health CEC Joseph Mbai says virus is spreading quickly in the villages.
• Many patients are reported to have visited markets, churches and shops, making contract tracing difficult.
Image: Alice Waithera
The Murang’a government has announced plans to conduct free Covid-19 testing in the villages.
Health executive Joseph Mbai said the county will work with a team of experts to ensure the success of the drive. It will be rolled out in designated health facilities following increased Covid-19 cases in the county.
Mbai said many villagers fall sick but have no idea that they have contracted the virus, thus end up infecting others, a situation he blamed for the surge in the number of patients.
“We've realised that Covid-19 has now spread to the villages and many of the patients have been to numerous public places,” he said.
The programme will help the county to establish the rate of infection and contain the contagion by offering treatment to those found sick. Villagers will also be sensitised on how to protect themselves and their families.
And to intensify control efforts, the county government has also resumed fumigation of public places and has already covered highly populated areas such as Murang’a, Kenol, Kangari and Gatura towns.
“The patients we have recorded have indicated that they have been to churches, markets and supermarkets, making it hard for the county government to conduct contact tracing, hence necessitating fumigation,” Mbai said, adding that the exercise will continue until cases subside.
Speaking in Kenol town during a similar exercise, he cautioned residents against flouting government guidelines on Covid-19 prevention. The county’s infections have surpassed the 300 mark, he said, urging residents to continue social-distancing, sanitising and avoiding gatherings and idling.
“The second wave of Covid-19 has really affected our county and that is why we are taking all these measures. We currently have 57 active cases all in home-based care and we have a surveillance team checking up on them,” he said.
He told supermarket retailers, bar owners, restaurateurs and hoteliers to fumigate their premises once every two weeks. He further warned that matatu operators violating rules will be penalised.
“Many of them are now ferrying excess passengers and do not have sanitiser,” he said, asking county security and public health teams to move in and ensure the rules are followed to the letter.
Catherine Njoki, a Kenol resident, concurred with the CEC but added that many passengers board matatus that have no excess passengers but the crew cramp their vehicles with more passengers picked up on the way.
“Just today, I was in a matatu that had 14 passengers and one woman did not have a mask and they allowed her in,” she said.
Njoki appealed to the government to rein in the errant operators to save the lives of passengers.
Gitugi ward administrator Samuel Mwangi said the county enforcement teams will be deployed to impound noncompliant matatus. He said matatus will not be allowed to continue operating with impunity while disregarding the dangers posed by their actions.
Edited by F'Orieny