- No trucks allowed to park in Machakos; they will be allowed only 30 minutes to refuel.
- Truck drivers transporting goods from Mombasa to Uganda and other countries will be screened at all entry points.
Alcohol distribution has been banned in Machakos from Wednesday, April 22, until the end of May.
Vehicles flouting the ban will be impounded, Governor Alfred Mutua said on Tuesday.
"There will be no distribution of alcohol and alcohol products in Machakos county from tomorrow, Wednesday, until the end of May,” the governor said in a statement to media houses.
Mutua said that trucks and lorries will only have 30 minutes to refuel. They will not be allowed to park in the county.
This is all in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus. The decision was made by the county Coronavirus Emergency Committee.
“No transit trucks/lorries will be allowed to stop in Machakos county. They can only stop to refuel and do it within 30 minutes," the governor said.
The committee came up with the tough measure after realising that some truck drivers were contravening the dusk to dawn curfew, hence increasing chances of infecting Machakos people.
The county boss said the decisions were made after noticing rampant disregard of the regulations set up by the national government and the Ministry of Health.
"Bars are still open and people are drinking inside bars that are supposed to be closed. They lock themselves in and they are also wandering around during the curfew hours. So, we have decided it's safer for our people if there is no more alcohol supply to these bars," he said.
Mutua said that trucks passing through Machakos originate from areas with local transmission of Covid-19, exposing county residents to infection.
"We have noticed that these drivers don't stay indoors during the curfew hours. They always walk around visiting friends at night and it's not safe for our people."
Truck drivers transporting goods from Mombasa to Uganda and other countries will be screened at all entry points and those who test positive will be returned to their counties for quarantine.
"There will be no stopping in Machakos county since we cannot ban them from transporting food and other goods to those countries, but there will have to be more than two drivers to make sure they don’t sleep in Machakos county," Mutua said.
On Monday, he threatened to close all entry points to Machakos to stop the spread of coronavirus.
“A time will come when we will need to close all the roads to and from our county since we don’t have many cases,” the governor said.
He spoke during the launch of mass screening and an isolation centre at Kenyatta Stadium. He ordered the closure of Joska market in Matungulu sub-county.
The market, Mutua said on his Twitter account, was closed due to non-compliance by some of the residents. He said the decision was reached in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus.
Residents were asked to comply with the directives given by the ministry.
On Tuesday, county officers demolished all kiosks and shops found open in Joska to enforce the order.
Edited by Henry Makori