Kwale is on high alert following a surge in new Covid-19 infections in the region.
County commissioner Joseph Kanyiri said the county has been recording an alarming number of infections in the past week.
Kinango subcounty is main the hot spot, with many cases of infections being recorded.
By Thursday, about 14 Covid-19 patients were receiving treatment at the Msambweni hospital. Ten of them had serious breathing complications and had been put on oxygen.
Kwale has over 600 positive cases of coronavirus as the nation experiences the fourth wave of the virus.
The region is one of the counties that recorded the first cases of Covid-19 and continued to register relatively low infection rates since the virus outbreak.
Kanyiri expressed fears that the situation in the county might soon escalate for the worst if the numbers keep on rising daily.
"There is danger looming and if we won't be keen things will be very thin in our end," he said.
He warned the region's health facilities will be overstretched if residents won't take necessary precautions.
The county commissioner attributed the rising infection rate to the constant violation of the Covid-19 prevention measures by the locals.
Kanyiri said many people in marketplaces and towns walk and gather comfortably without face masks.
In June, more than 50 people in Kinango were arrested and arraigned for breaking the public health directives.
The majority of business places don't have handwashing equipment and existing town water tanks for sanitising are empty.
Public transport vehicles, tuk-tuks and motorbikes are agents of the virus spread as they flout social distancing rules.
The administrator said he is heartbroken that people still wear masks for police officers.
"It is sad that the public will only think of a mask when they see officers," he said.
Kanyiri urged residents to take individual responsibility in curbing the virus.
He warned politicians against organising political gatherings.
Some leaders have been conducting political meetings despite the government ban on public gatherings.
Kanyiri advised them to use social media platforms to sell their agendas rather than risking the locals' lives.
He also called on residents to go for Covid-19 jabs and keep off misinformation that vaccines are harmful.
Some locals have been avoiding the vaccines, fearing they make people infertile.
Governor Salim Mvurya urged residents to be on alert and take necessary precautions against Covid.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)
