In responding to the COVID-19, the Ministry of Health has set up two counselling centres, one at the Kenyatta National Hospital and the second at Mbagathi Hospital and deployed counsellors to take care of the quarantined patients and their families.
The Public Health Emergency Operation Centre, on the other hand, has been fully activated to coordinate these response efforts.
The Ministry of Health in partnership with county governments, Kenya Red Cross, AMREF, World Health Organisation, the World Bank, Kenya Private Sector Alliance, University of Nairobi, Kenya Health Federation and other stakeholders has engaged community health volunteers countrywide to support awareness creation on COVID-19.
The business community is also scheduled to come in with a compact intervention to address issues that will deal with the COVID-19.
On top of these measures, we will continue to maintain heightened surveillance at all points of entry, health facilities and communities.
We urge members of the public to remain vigilant and are advised to continue taking precautionary measures.
Maintain basic hand hygiene and safe food practices. Avoid close contact with people who are coughing and have flu-like symptoms.
In addition, anyone showing symptoms of chest infection illness such as fever, coughing, difficulty in breathing and sneezing with a history of travel should go to the nearest health facility for assessment.
Anyone with a recent history of travel to the affected countries is strongly advised to self-quarantine for 14 days and promptly report to the nearest health facility in case they develop any of the above symptoms.
We have taken note of videos doing the rounds on social media with fake information which are aimed at misinforming and causing unnecessary panic to the public. We wish to inform the public not to trust information that has not come from official government communication channels.
The fake and alarming videos have been forwarded to Director of Criminal Investigations for investigations, arrest and prosecution of such individuals.
I would like to assure the public that the Government is doing everything possible to manage the situation.
I, therefore, urge everyone not to panic and observe the preventive measures outlined by the ministry.
Statement by Mercy Mwangangi, the chief administrative secretary ministry of Health
