Marsabit Governor Mohamud Ali has suspended services at the county headquarter for two weeks starting Thursday.
The county boss further directed all county staff to undergo mandatory testing for coronavirus and the county headquarter to be fumigated before operations resume.
The move is aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus, protecting public health as well as the health of the county staff.
Governor Ali said so far the county had recorded 98 cases from 797 samples.
Among those who tested positive for the virus were 32 county staff, 16 of them being healthcare personnel who have been in the front line in the fight against the pandemic.
Ali said the rate at which the disease was spreading called for tough measures. He urged residents to be cautious.
Speaking during the burial of the County Secretary Joseph Wako who died on Monday following a short illness, Governor Ali urged residents to seriously observe the Ministry of Health guidelines for Covid-19 in order to stem the rising cases of infection in the county.
The county boss further advised residents against attending huge public gatherings that draw large crowds as it would be very hard to adhere to health protocols like social distancing.
The governor announced that the county will commence full operation of the intensive care unit by next week as oxygen plants would be available in the next four days.
He said the county would soon start testing blood samples at the main laboratory which is under construction and will be opened towards by the end of this month.
While condoling with the family of the late Wako, he described the deceased as a seasoned and highly respectable civil servant who worked at the water department for over 30 years.
He also served as the county executive member for Water and Natural Resources in the county government of Marsabit before taking over as the County Secretary and Head of Public Service.
Wako left behind a wife, two sons and a daughter.
Various leaders and the county staff attended the burial where social distance guidelines were highly observed.
