Leaders of the Anglican Church in Kisii have faulted the approaches the government is using to fight Covid-19.
Kisii Bishop John Omangi wants the government to view the church as an ally and not the enemy in the ongoing efforts to stem the spread of the disease.
Omangi said the sporadic raids on churches and arrests of the clergy painted a wrong picture as the country battles to contain the novel virus that has so far killed more than 30,000 people across the globe.
"As clergy, we appreciate the efforts to contain this disease but the raids on churches and clobbering of priests is uncalled for," said Omangi.
The church and government have had long partnership on development and health issues and thus the need to have these ties strengthened in the face of coronavirus pandemic, stated Omangi.
By Saturday, Kenya had recorded 38 cases after seven additional patients tested positive.
The government has since ordered the closure of churches as part of efforts to contain the spread of the bug, which originated in Wuhan, China.
Italy and Spain remain the worst hit even as the US registered a spike of infections.
Already, one person in Kenya has died from the disease with hundreds others being isolated for tests in various health facilities.
High profile figures of those infected include Kilifi Deputy Governor and one Catholic priest who broke away from self-quarantine.
Speaking in Kisii, South Nyanza Bishop Omangi said it was vital that Christians be allowed to meet in small groups to pray for the country in the face of this pandemic.
"Instead of raiding churches, let the leaders be allowed to organise small prayer groups of between three to five people who can intercede for the country," said Omangi.
He asked why supermarkets were being allowed to operate and the churches ordered to stop services.
"Does this mean supermarkets are more essential than the role being by churches?" Posed Omangi.
Separately, a section of Kisii County Ward Assembly Ward Reps have questioned the county's level of preparedness to tackle Covid-19.
This is after one nurse and doctors at the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital allegedly refused to attend to a patient referred to the facility from Tabaka Mission Hospital in South Mugirango.
Speaking to the press, assembly nominee Teresa Ombasa said she had accompanied the female patient to hospital on Friday night but doctors scampered away saying they had run short of sanitizers and masks to attend to the patient.
"This is perturbing and raises questioned of our preparedness as a regional government to tackle this pandemic," said Ombasa.
While no patient has tested positive, the county is monitoring 68 people, most of them those who returned from foreign trips, the county leadership says.
Governor James Ongwae says all health personnel have been ordered to be on the standby to tackle the virus if the situation worsens.
"We are happy so far that nobody has tested positive and that the samples taken for tests have all turned negative," said Ongwae during a briefing over the weekend.
County Commissioner Stephen Kihara has commended security agencies in the region for enforcing the night curfews ordered by the president on Thursday last week.
He said the residents are cooperating well in ensuring the curfew was effective.
"It is important that they still continue keeping indoors to stem the spread of this disease," said Kihara.
