• Kuria said currently the traffic has eased and is flowing.
• "The snarl-up has now reduced from 74km on two lanes to 34km on a single lane. We have had some delays because Custom systems of the Ugandan side have had some failures, but we hope to settle before the end of the week," he said.
Image: WILFRED NYANGARESI
The Health Ministry has said it is working round the clock to clear a backlog of tests in various centres.
Director of Public Health Dr Francis Kuria on Monday said there has been a backlog in testing of samples, especially in Nairobi and Mombasa, but measures have been out in place to clear the backlog.
Kuria said the ministry has been facing some challenges in its supply chain management, but mechanisms have been put in place to sort out the issues.
According to Kuria, in two days time, a consignment of manual test kits will be cleared to complement the efforts of testing.
"In another two days we hope to receive another consignment of automatic test kits and this will go a long way in clearing the backlog that we have been experiencing," he said.
We have had some challenges and we are working to sort them out. We are still fighting, especially to clear the backlog in Western region," he added.
Kuria said so far some 6,000 truck drivers have been tested and awaiting their results.
Image: COURTESY
He said the backlog had also resulted in a huge two lane traffic snarl-up along the Malaba highway.
"We deployed a multi-agency team of health experts who started diplomatic discussions with their Ugandan counterparts. They have so far collected samples of between 5,000 and 6,000 truck drivers who had arrived at the border without the required Covid-19 clearance certificate," he said.
Kuria said currently the traffic has eased and is flowing.
"The snarl-up has now reduced from 74km on two lanes to 34km on a single lane. We have had some delays because Custom systems of the Ugandan side have had some failures, but we hope to settle before the end of the week," he said.
Kuria said they hope by Wednesday of this week all systems will be up and running.
Kenya has so far reported 2,862 Covid-19 cases after 95 more people tested positive in the last 24 hrs.
Some 849 people have recovered by 85 have succumbed to the disease.
Last month Kenya dismissed claims that the situation at the Malaba boarder had been caused over complaints of testing protocols.
Transport CS James Macharia said some three drivers had incited others to cause the traffic.
“It is not about testing protocols. It is a few elements who incited other drivers by blocking the main entry to the border creating a 50km jam,” Macharia said.
He said the government has stepped up measures to ensure the border points remain open and operational.
“We have identified and narrowed down to the three culprits and they will be dealt with in accordance with the law,” he said.
The CS added, “We are telling our drivers if you know you will encounter trouble at the border point, please don’t leave your point of departure, ensure you have met all laid down requirements to allow quick clearance”.
Macharia said Malaba is critical to the country because it is the main entry to the Great Lakes region that accounts for 30 per cent of the cargo that comes from Mombasa.
“The same reason we are telling our drivers before leaving points of departure they must produce Covid-19 certificate 48 hours before departure. This will play a key role in ensuring a seamless interactions across East Africa,” he said.