Travel restrictions imposed on four counties could be extended to the other 43 counties if the current pandemic keeps up its momentum, the State has said.
Yesterday, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe announced that the number of Covid-19 cases has increased to 225.
The increase led to Mr Kagwe hinting on travel restrictions being extended to the remaining 43 counties. Kagwe said the disease pattern is being determined by the movement of people across county borders.
As a result, he hinted that if this disease continues in the same dotted pattern, then drastic action similar to what befell Nairobi will be taken.
On April 6, President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered cessation of movement for 21 days in Nairobi, Kwale, Kilifi and Mombasa counties, which have the most cases in the country.
The order ceases to be active on April 27, 2020. However, in recent days, some counties which had no cases have started reporting some.
For example, Mandera which had no case, now has six all linked to travellers who came from Mombasa and Nairobi.
“We have not banned inter-county movement but as the situation evolves, then measures that we take will also evolve,” said Kagwe.
He noted that movement across counties should be avoided, even in jurisdictions where the president’s order does not apply.
“As you know we have discouraged movement across counties anyway. We have said you should stay at home for your own safety given the circumstances that are out there,” Kagwe said.
The CS noted that as a result of the risk at the county level, a team lead by Health Director General Patrick Amoth has been dispatched to Siaya to assess its readiness.
Siaya, Nairobi, Mandera and Mombasa are the high risk counties, according to government data.
In the breakdown given by Kagwe, Nairobi has the most cases with 163, followed by Mombasa (36), Kilifi (10) while Mandera has six.
All of the latest cases are Kenyans. “None has a history of travel, and none of them was in our quarantine centre,” said Kagwe.
Death toll of the disease in the country now stands at 10 after one more patient succumbed.
Credit: Source link