• MP Katana says cultural beliefs among the people in rural areas in the county are a deterrent to the fight against Covid-19.
• Urges residents to be extra cautious, warning that the disease, unlike what locals claim, is real and can infect anyone.
Image: BRIAN OTIENO
The rising numbers of Covid-19 cases in Kilifi county is alarming and a change of approach is needed to deal with the pandemic, Kaloleni MP Paul Katana has said.
Katana on Monday said cultural beliefs among the people in rural areas are a deterrent to the fight against Covid-19.
“Some of our people still don’t believe this disease is real. They still have this false notion that the virus only infects the rich and those in urban areas and not those in rural areas,” Katana said at his Mombasa home.
This comes after Kaloleni’s Kizurini Secondary School deputy head teacher Naomi Sanguli succumbed to the disease on Saturday.
Following the death, health officials on Monday arrived at the school where they took samples from 80 of the teaching and non-teaching staff, students, some Board of Management members and relatives of some staffers.
The exercise was supervised by Kaloleni deputy county commissioner Josephat Biwot.
On Tuesday, Biwot told the Star Sanguli was last at the school 11 days ago.
“Some 42 students are in quarantine, the rest have been told to stay at home for three days as we wait for the results of the tests on the samples from Kemri,” Biwot said on the phone.
Sanguli taught Geography and Kiswahili and the students tested are mostly those who attended her classes.
Biwot said most of the students did not present any symptoms. “Only a few teachers did,” he said.
The teachers have also been advised to self-isolate.
In the meantime, Katana called on Kaloleni residents to be extra cautious, warning that the disease, unlike what locals claim, is real and can infect anyone.
“Individual discipline is one of the key weapons against this disease,” Katana said.
He noted that traditional practices and cultural beliefs have contributed to the spread and they need to be addressed so that residents can stay safe.
Health officials in the subcounty have decried the continued use of drinking dens popularly known “Mangwes’, where people drink traditional brews, sharing drinking straws known as ‘mbokos’.
“It is dangerous for two or more people to share mbokos because droplets, where the virus are found, can easily be transmitted from one person to the other,” a health official who sought anonymity said.
Kaloleni constituency has so far recorded 35 cases. Eight health workers, six police officers and four inmates are among those who have contracted the virus.
Four people have died.
The most affected wards are urban Mariakani and Kaloleni.
The MP warned rogue police officers using the pandemic to extort money that their days are numbered.
“We have received reports that some bad apples in the police service are using the pandemic to extort money from citizens. This is not the time to make a kill. It is time to unite and fight this common unseen enemy,” said Katana.
He said arresting people for misdemeanours and then bundling them in one vehicle as has been witnessed in several parts of the country does not help.
“It only worsens the situation,” Katana said.
He said police ought to use dialogue instead of threats and extortion to help residents in the rural areas to realise how serious the disease is.
“If they find one without a mask, instead of beating them up and bundling them in the police vehicle, they could provide masks for them and educate them on the dangers of not wearing one,” Katana said.
He said Covid-19 has affected all Kenyans in one way or another and police officers must also conduct themselves in a humane manner.
Edited by EKibii