Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho is set to enlist the aid of the police to ensure county residents undertake Coronavirus tests.
The decision came amid open defiance by Mombasa residents after they declined to heed to Joho's appeal by failing to turn up for tests.
Government spokesperson Cyrus Oguna while speaking to Kenyans.co.ke on Tuesday, May 4, stated that the Public Health Act invoked by Health CS Mutahi Kagwe, compelled the government to consider using every means available to ensure Kenyans were protected.
"When the Act is invoked, one may be forced to actually take a test. I am saying one may be forced, not will be forced. I want Kenyans to understand the provision of the act.
"The act stipulates that if one is deemed a threat to the population, then he can be forced to go to the hospital or to take a test. It empowers the Ministry of Health to undertake tests on anyone. As of now, we still want to appeal to our people to come out willingly for the benefit of everyone. To protect your friends, family and relatives," Oguna clarified.
Joho had vowed to ensure the residents undergo testing whether compulsory or voluntarily, a move which residents and coastal leaders led by Nyali MP Mohamed Ali alias Moha Jicho Pevu opposed.
"Nataka niseme hivi, kama mwanasiasa, sisi ni wanasiasa na inapofika katika maswala ya afya tusilete siasa zetu ndani. Kwanza tuwache Wizara ya Afya ifanye kazi yake. Pili, watu wanaogopa kwenda kufanyiwa test kwa sababu ya kitu kimoja, wakipatikana wanaambiwa gharama ni yao.
(Let me say this, as a politician when it comes to health matters, let's shelve politics. Let us allow the Ministry of Health to undertake its duties. Second, Kenyans are afraid to take tests as the bills charged are high charged to the individuals)," Moha, as he is commonly known, argued.
Earlier on, while speaking on Radio Citizen on Tuesday morning, May 4, he disclosed that the government was considering ways through which it would assist Kenyans to pay for quarantine.
"Kenyans should not be afraid to undergo tests. It's better to voluntarily avail yourself for tests," Oguna stated.
"We are looking at all possibilities and there is a team that has been given that task and when they are done, we will be able to table the report, which shall be discussed and a decision shall be made," Oguna told Kenyans.co.ke.
Meanwhile, with the number of those testing positive soaring high, with numbers recorded from community spreading, the government is set to reopen closed quarantine centres to accommodate those who will be directed to quarantine.
On Monday, May 4, Kenya's Covid-19 tally was at 490, with 24 fatalities and 173 recoveries.
The measure to reopen the centres was also compelled by the fact that the government decided to evacuate Kenyans stuck abroad. In March 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta directed that individuals with recent travels abroad should quarantine.
