51 new people have tested positive for the virus bringing total infections to 963
Kenya’s Coronavirus infections tally has climbed to 963 after 51 people tested positive for the virus in the past 24 hours.
In his update on coronavirus, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe (pictured) justified the recent move by President Uhuru Kenyatta to restrict travels across the border with Tanzania and Somalia.
In the wake of a brewing row with Tanzania, Kagwe said that the decision was made in the spirit of fighting the spread of the virus across the border from or to Tanzania.
He said the decision to close the border with Tanzania and Somalia was prompted by the rising number of cases of imported infections. For example, he said that Kenya has found 214 people with the virus out of which 182 were foreigners.
The foreign nationals had to be repatriated to avoid risking possibilities of local transmission.
The CS responded and defended the government over the alleged slow-paced clearance of truck drivers which has led to traffic snarl-up at the borders.
“We want to clear them as quickly as possible. It’s only that in Tanzania they have not been tested. So we have to do that to them as our brothers and sisters and because we want to trade with them.” He said that the government only allowed drivers with a clearance certificate for safety measures.
At the same briefing, the Cabinet Secretary for East African Community Adan Mohammed gave an assurance that cargo was still moving in the Kenya-Tanzania border.
This is after Tanzanian barred Kenyan trucks from delivering goods to Kenya.
“The movement of cargo has not been closed and as of now, cargo is still moving. …We will not stop any cargo moving into Tanzania,” he said.
Mr Mohammed said that the trade agreement of the EAC stipulates that member states must provide unfettered access to trucks ferrying cargo into the member countries. He said that Kenya was committed to the consensual agreement of the EAC member states and would at no point bar truck drivers from other countries after being cleared by health agencies.
He, nonetheless, admitted that Tanzanian authorities had barred few Kenyan trucks in compliance with their recent order restricting cargo movement into Kenya.
“There are around five to seven vehicles on the Tanzanian side which have been barred from proceeding with their journey.”
“We will not stop processing any vehicles taking cargo into Tanzania. Tanzanian truck drivers are not coming with clearance certificates that that is why we have to do the test,” he said.
Kagwe emphasised that Kenya would remain firm with testing of truck drivers but will repatriate those found to be having the virus because they can be treated in their own countries.
The cabinet secretaries said Kenya enjoyed good diplomatic ties with Tanzania and that there was more need for unity and understanding during this time of fighting the pandemic.
Infection patterns
Kagwe gave a detailed analysis of Kenya’s Coronavirus infection trends. He highlighted that men are the major victims at 62 per cent and women 38 per cent.
Nairobi and Mombasa remain the hotspots of infections being Kamukunji and Old Town estates respectively.
He, however, said that Mombasa’s infection rates were countered by intense intervention measures that were headed by the area governor Ali Hassan Joho. “I want to say governor Joho has really tried for putting measures for Mombasa people,” said Kagwe.
He reassured Kenyans that the government will not relent in stepping up the fight against the bug.
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