The Ministry of Health on Wednesday, April 15, dispatched a team led by acting Health Director-General Dr Patrick Amoth to the home of James Oyugi, the hurriedly buried Covid-19 victim from Siaya County.
The team began its visit at the Siaya County Referral Hospital inspecting the hospital's preparedness in handling emergency cases that may arise from an outbreak of Covid-19, before proceeding to a closed-door meeting with the county's emergency response team that is led by Governor Cornel Rasanga and County Commissioner Michael Ole Tialal.
In an interview with journalists after the closed-door meeting, Dr Amoth stressed on the need for better relations between the public and government officials, as they continue to fight the spread of Coronavirus. He also requested residents to come forward for voluntary testing.
''I request anyone who may have been in contact with the late James Oyugi to voluntarily come forward for testing and isolation. The government will not discriminate on anyone as we all need to work together to enable us to fight this disease,'' he told the media.
The team also visited Kenya Medical Training College Siaya Campus, where 64 people believed to have been in contact with the late Kenya Ports Authority employee are quarantined.
Siaya County is one of the areas targeted for mass screening of residents, as announced by Health Chief Administrative Secretary Mercy Mwangangi on Tuesday, April 14, after confirmation of its first the case, with reports indicating that some residents who may have come into contact with the victim are hiding details about it to avoid being in quarantine.
''The government will continue to trace more contacts, isolate and treat them as an appropriate strategy to deal with the pandemic,'' stated Amoth.
14 samples from the quarantined individuals have been taken to Kenya Medical Research Institue (KEMRI) Kisumu for testing, results from five samples have been returned and the emergency team is still awaiting results from nine samples.
So far, five counties in Western have recorded cases of Covid-19, Kisii, Homa Bay, Nyamira, Nyeri and Kwale have one case each, while Kakamega and Siaya have two cases.
Government is urging residents to follow the laid down guidelines to help fight the spread of the disease, arguing that the country has no capacity to handle a full-blown outbreak which may lead to a high number of disastrous deaths.
Yesterday, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe announced the number of Covid-19 cases in Kenya has risen to 225 while adding that nine more individuals had tested positive of the disease.
