• Governor says county has mapped Luanda, Mbale, Chavakali and Cheptul markets as key hot spot areas.
• Protective equipment to be distributed to health facilities and law enforcers.
Vihiga county will distribute personal protective equipment for health workers and law enforcers, Governor Wilbur Ottichilo has said.
The county received 2,000 masks and gloves for the handling of suspected cases of coronavirus.
The county has not recorded any positive cases of the virus that has infected 81 people in the country.
Health workers had threatened to run to safety if they encountered a suspected case citing lack of protective gear.
Ottichilo on Wednesday evening said the county is well prepared to manage the Covid-19 outbreak. He spoke at the county headquarters in Mbale.
Geographical Information Systems have been incorporated into the county command centre to map hotspot areas and provide data to inform decisions concerning the virus.
"We have mapped Luanda, Mbale, Chavakali and Cheptul markets as key hot spot areas. Therefore, we are appealing to our people in those areas to observe measures put in place for their safety," Ottichillo said.
The governor said they are engaging with the central government for further consultations on identifying isolation centres.
“We are aiming to create one isolation centre in every subcounty to avoid crowding the ones we have."
The governor said they are doing budget estimates on how to distribute food to cushion residents from effects of the outbreak.
Edited by R.Wamochie