Garissa Governor Ali Korane has urged staff of international agencies mainly working in Dadaab to stop unnecessary travel in and out of the county to reduce the risk of coronavirus spread.
The governor spoke on Thursday at his residence during a press conference attended by the county security committee led by county commissioner Meru Mwangi CECs and religious leaders.
Korane said his office will communicate to officials in the UNHCR in Dadaab.
Some of the staff working at the organisation's offices which is 100km away hail from Garissa. Those travelling to and from Dadaab by road must also pass through the county.
“We feel that they are at high risk of contracting the virus and passing it on. We, therefore, call upon them to stop non-essential travel in and out of the county,” Korane said.
He further ordered an immediate ban on sale and transportation of miraa; closure of clubs, bars and indoor football centres with immediate effect.
Korane said a multi-sectoral County Emergency Response Committee on Coronavirus has been constituted to coordinate all preparedness and response activities. Korane co-chairs the committee with Mwangi.
“A command centre complete with hotlines has been established (0111207207, 0110040836, 0110040708). These hotline numbers have been widely circulated and should there be any call-in of a suspect case, then the team will quickly mobilise, respond and verify the authenticity of the alert,” he said.
“Cognizant of the fact that Garissa is one of the counties mapped as high risk, we are working with the Health ministry to ensure optimal availability of all the essential supplies.”
He ordered all supermarkets, malls, business premises, hotels and banks to provide hand washing materials and hand sanitisers at all times in their premises.
All public and private hospitals and government offices were also directed to avail the commodities.
The governor ordered all public service vehicles to provide hand sanitisers in all vehicles and at their offices for members of the public.
“The county government will undertake whatever is humanely possible to provide the best care as per the Standard Operating Procedures in the event of coronavirus outbreak. We are working on the assumption of the worst-case scenario."
Edited by R.Wamochie
