With the number of coronavirus cases in the country increasing, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe on Monday turned the spotlight on transport by boda boda or motorcycles, a popular form of transport across the country.
While giving his daily briefing on Covid-19, Kagwe revealed that the new virus is now being transmitted through community transmission, away from its initial introduction and spread by foreign nationals coming into the country.
This, the CS said, means the disease was now spreading between locals and the number could grow exponentially.
He said due to this new revelation the government ordered each boda boda operator to carry only passenger and wear face masks to avert contracting and spreading the coronavirus in the line of duty.
“All boda bodas going forward will have to put on face masks. You can imagine how many passengers they interact with in a single day, we need to save our youth who have invested heavily in this business,” he said.
Kagwe said the ministry had put mechanisms in place to ensure the face masks are distributed across the country to be accessed by the boda boda riders.
The Health CS said police have been instructed to enforce the directive with immediate effect.
The national government is set to kick off the distribution of masks in counties to aid in the implementation of its new measures to stop the virus from spreading further and faster.
“Government will distribute masks across the country. We are doing this to protect boda bodas,” he said, adding that it is a measure for them to remain in business.
Kenya on Monday confirmed 50 cases of Covid-19 in the country after 8 more people tested positive for coronavirus.
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