Kwale Governor, Salim Mvurya, has encouraged residents to respect the National and County government’s measures relating to fight against novel coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic.
Mvurya said everyone must follow coronavirus advisories such as staying at home, social distancing, washing hands with soap or hand sanitizers, wearing of facemasks among other guidelines to reduce the spread of the virus.
He cautioned the residents against downplaying the threat posed by the virus to the local health system and the economy of the county in general.
“We all need to respect these simple advisories to protect ourselves,” he said on Monday at his office in Kwale town.
Mvurya who chairs the County Covid-19 Management and Coordination Response Committee said following the public health measures are what residents should be doing to ensure the spread of the virus is arrested.
The Governor said the nationwide coronavirus curfew and the three weeks containment measures in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi is becoming a success.
“Kwale is part of this success since we have one confirmed case of a foreign national registered over a month ago,” he said.
“We also thank God for his protection. I urge all of us to continue with the spirit of guarding ourselves against this disease,” he urged.
He said from as tomorrow the County will be providing health practitioners with more Personal Protective Equipment, so that they can continue to serve citizens while protected. This includes distribution of more thermoguns to all checkpoints within the County.
Mvurya said the County Government has managed to quarantine and test 55 suspected cases since the first case of a French tourist who has since left the country.
“I am happy to say they have all turned out negative and so far so good, we have no new infection and we are grateful to God and our people for observing laid down regulations,” he said.
The Governor said the County will tomorrow begin food distribution to all vulnerable families hard hit by the economic crisis caused by the pandemic in the four Sub-counties of Matuga, Msambweni, Lunga Lunga and Kinango.
Meanwhile, Australian mining firm Base Titanium has donated 15 infrared thermometers and 6,000 face masks to the County Government of Kwale to sustain the fight against covid-19.
The thermo-guns will be used by police and county officers manning various roadblocks and border points within the County to measure body temperatures of truck drivers to ensure it is within the admissible range set by the National Government.
Base senior officials led by Community Relations Manager, Pius Kassim, Community Liaison Superintendent, Christine Mwaka and Government Relation Superintendent, Ali Masemo, were at hand to deliver the equipment to the County Administration.
Kassim said the donation is part of Base Titanium’s efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus and ensure safe movement of goods and people along the Mombasa- Lunga-Lunga Highway and also considering that Kwale is a border county which borders Tanzania to the South.
By Hussein Abdullahi
