Health officers take samples from Kawangware residents in Nairobi during
Covid-19 mass testing on May 1, 2020. Wajir County recorded its second
case of the coronavirus on May 1, 2020. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION
MEDIA GROUP
Wajir County on Friday recorded its second Covid-19 case, of another person with a history of travel to Mogadishu, Somalia.
Health
executive Ismail Sheikh Issack told a press briefing that the case was
confirmed after a test at the regional laboratory, bringing the total
number of tests conducted in the county to 25.
“The
commissioning of tests in our regional laboratory kicked off on April,
23. The second case is of a 32-year-old Kenyan male from Garissa County.
He is asymptomatic and stable,” said Mr Issack.
The
two patients were among four people earlier intercepted by security
agencies in Diff, a small town at the Kenya-Somalia border.
TRADERS
The
official asked residents to report traders sneaking into the county
through the porous border with Somalia, noting their risk of
transmitting the coronavirus.
"It is important to note that
the confirmed cases were all imported by livestock traders who recently
travelled to Mogadishu," said Mr Issack.
He
added, “We intercepted four individuals on a similar return trip from
Mogadishu for livestock trade at Riba in Wajir East Sub-county. They are
currently at the KMTC quarantine centre undergoing routine checks."
Mr
Issack said that as part of monitoring, health officials under the
supervision of the health director had been sent to set up base at Diif
and conduct fumigation, screening and contact tracing in Dadajabula,
Dagahley and surrounding areas.
He said they would enforce county directions against the virus and mount robust education campaigns.
"I
urge you to observe the national and county guidelines that include
social distancing, washing hands with water and soap or using
sanitisers, wearing face masks in public places, and above all, staying
at home," he told the people.
NEW MEASURES
On Thursday, the county emergency response committee came up with a raft of measures to control the spread of the virus.
They
included cessation of movement into and out of Diff town, closure of
Diff and Dagahaley livestock markets and suspension of outpatient
services at Wajir County Referral Hospital, which is the main isolation
centre.
Wajir's new case was among 15 more in Kenya that Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe announced on Friday.
The minister also announced that the number of recoveries had risen to 150 with the discharge of six more patients.
He further said that the number of fatalities had risen to 21 as four more patients had died.
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