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Covid-19

PRESS STATEMENT ON COVID-19 STATUS IN MAKUENI BY MAKUENI COUNTY CORONAVIRUS EMERGENCY RESPONSE COMMITTEE –

As at 30th August 2021, Makueni County had recorded 1968 cases with 166 deaths. In the last 24 hours, 2 cases have tested positive out of 13 patients tested.
 
The number of active cases is 137 with 105 on home-based care while 32 admitted.
 
Makueni has received 46,160 vaccines and has administered 44,149 of which 38,032 are first doses while 6,117 are second doses.
 
The committee reviewed the status of covid19 pandemic in the county and made the following communication:
1. We draw the citizens to the attention of the Presidential Address of 18th August 2021 on Review of Covid19 Containment Measures. The following is to be adhered to:
 
a) THAT, the hours of curfew in the territory of the Republic of Kenya shall continue to be observed from 10.00pm to 4.00am for a further containment period of 60 days.
 
b) THAT, all physical/in-person public gatherings and meetings, including political rallies and campaign meetings for impending by elections are hereby suspended with immediate effect for a period of 60 days. The committee notes that the County has an upcoming by-election for Nguu-Masumba ward and the same must be adhered to.
 
c) THAT, all other social gatherings, including weddings, celebrations of marriage or traditional unions, ceremonies of rites of passage, funeral/cremation ceremonies and all other similar events or ceremonies, shall strictly adhere to the 100-person attendance limit as prescribed.
 
d) THAT, in addition to the prevailing guidelines on funeral/interment ceremonies, and to further enhance compliance with the guidelines thereto, officiators and proprietors of funeral homes are to strictly adhere to the prescribed 96 hours of confirmation of death, and secure processing for burial within this period, failure to which appropriate action against management, staff, and premises shall be taken where exceptions are not justified. The committee directs all subcounty and ward emergency response committees as well as morgue operators to ensure this is adhered to.
 
e) THAT, places of worship nationwide, shall continue to strictly adhere to the one third (1/3) rule for in person worship and congregational worship, and protocols on hygiene and social distancing in accordance with the guidelines of the Inter Faith Council. All religious leaders should ensure compliance.
 
f) THAT, the operations of bars, restaurants and eateries shall continue as guided by the Ministry of Health guidelines, failure to which appropriate action against management,staff, patrons and premises shall be taken.The committee has profiled 39 bars which have been flouting the Covid 19 guidelines and keenly monitoring.Any one found operating outside the guidelines will have restaurants and
 
g) THAT, National Government Administration Officers are to secure compliance of these directives without fail.
Responsibility and consequence for breach shall be borne by the National Government Administration Officers in whose jurisdiction the breach occurs. The county administration should work hand in hand with NGAO in their areas of jurisdiction
 
h) THAT, in enforcing these measures all security sector agencies are directed to ensure that organizers and/or individual leaders, including senior public-sector officials and political leaders take personal responsibility and are held to account for any violation of the measures. There will be no selective application of the law.
 
2. All containment measures as issued by the ministry of health must be adhered to at all times. These include:
  • Hand Hygiene – Proper hand washing with soap and water or use of alcohol based hand sanitizer
  • Proper wearing of face mask including maintaining good hygiene of the masks and proper disposal
  • Social distancing while in public places
3. We have noted laxity within the transport sector. The committee noted that PSVs were allowed to carry to 100% capacity. The following must however be adhered to:
  • Washing hands or sanitization before boarding
  • All passenger to properly wear face masks while boarding and maintain throughout the journey
  • Checking temperature for all passengers before boarding
  • All windows to remain open to allow air circulation
  • No vehicle is allowed to carry excess passengers. Wananchi should not board already full matatus (avoid sambaza seats)
  • The committee directs that ;Random spot checks and full enforcement of these guidelines will continue
4.All learning institutions are expected to remain vigilant on covid19 containment measures and ensure they have designated isolation spaces within the institution. Heads of these institutions are advised to work hand-in-hand with the department of health services for testing of suspected students and isolation of those who turn positive.
 
5.Vaccination for all those who are eligible is ongoing in the approved vaccination centers. These are:
 
1.Mutyambua Subcounty Hospital -Public
2.Mukuyuni Subcounty Hospital -Public
3.Tawa Subcounty Hospital-Public
4.Matiliku Subcounty Hospital-Public
5.Makindu Subcounty Hospital-Public
6.Mbooni Subcounty Hospital-Public
7.Kisau Subcounty Hospital-Public
8.Sultan Hamud Subcounty Hospital-Public
9.Makueni County Referral Hospital-Public
10.Kibwezi Subcounty Hospital-Public
11.Kambu Subcounty Hospital+Public
12.Mtito Andei Subcounty Hospital-Public
13.Kilungu Subcounty Hospital-Public
14.Kikoko Mission Hospital-FBO
15.Ralpha Hospital-Private
16.Royal Star Hospital-Private
17.Kilome Nursing Home-Private
18.Mulatya Memorial Hospital-Private
 
The vaccines are available in these facilities at no charge.
 
The department of health will continue to offer outreach services to other facilities to increase vaccination coverage.
 
The committee has noted with concern the many myths and misconceptions about the vaccines. We want to reassure all members of public that the vaccines offered within the republic of Kenya are effective and safe.
 
Further, we encourage anyone who has suspicious covid19 symptoms to come forward for testing within our health facilities
 
6. We thank all the well-wishers who have continued to support the county with donations of food, masks, sanitizers and hand washing facilities through the CERC. We appreciate the continued support from National government through donation of masks and alcohol based hand sanitizers. We continue to welcome more donations.
 
Cash donations can be forwarded to the Makueni County Covid19 Solidarity fund through the following account:
Bank: Kenya Commercial Bank
Account Name: Makueni County COVID -19 Solidarity
Account Number: 1273040236
 
The county has an operational Public Emergency Operation Center Telephone/Hotline: (Toll Free), 0800721013
H.E. Hon. Adelina Mwau – Deputy Governor/Ag. CECM Health Services
Maalim Mohamed, MBS – County Commissioner, Makueni County
 

Makueni Healthcare workers receive PPEs from Safaricom, KCB

Makueni’s frontline healthcare workers on Friday received Personal Protective Equipment worth Sh 1.5 million from telecommunication giant Safaricom to boost their fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

The PPEs include 1,270 surgical gowns, 177 N-95 masks, 170 KN95 masks and 205 pieces of protective goggles.

Governor Kivutha Kibwana who received the donation on behalf of the county emergency response committee at his office said safaricom has been a key partner to several counties in the fight against the covid-19 pandemic.

Kibwana also received a cash donation of Sh 1 million from the Kenya Commercial Bank group to boost the county’s preparedness in fighting corona virus.

Besides the donation, Safaricom announced a Sh 2.2 million partnership with the county government to rebuild houses of 99 families affected by floods in the areas of Kilungu, Kaiti, Kitundu and Sultan Hamud.

 

Shina Foundation to the rescue of vulnerable groups

County first lady Nazi Kivutha, through her Shina Foundation, has reached out to vulnerable groups along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway with a donation of cash and other items as a cushion against covid-19 distress.

The donation targets 207 beneficiaries organized in nine groups, and who are former commercial sex workers, drug addicts/peddlers based in Mtito Andei, Kibwezi, Emali, Makindu, Sultan Hamud, Salama, Malili, Kambu and Machinery towns.

Each of the nine groups received Sh 20,000 cash as seed capital for income generating activities while each individual will receive 5 litres of hand washing soap and a hand washing jerrican.

Nazi also donated 3,605 masks where each household member of the 207 beneficiaries will receive a pack of five face masks.

“We chose groups along the highway because of their vulnerability. Shina Foundation and our partners, among them Centre for Health Solutions and AIDS Healthcare Foundation, felt many young people were at extremely high risk of Covid-19 infection owing to their care-free life associated with substances abuse and commercial sex work,” said Nazi when she presented the donation to the County Coronavirus Emergency Response Committee at the county administration offices Monday.

Governor Kivutha Kibwana who received the donation, lauded Shina foundation terming the outfit a major player in the county development especially in resource mobilization for family planning, health development and mentorship.

Communication from Makueni County Coronavirus Emergency Response Committee

Corona virus pandemic has continued to spread around the globe.

In terms of preparedness, the county has achieved the following:

a) Established and operationalized covid19 treatment centers at Makindu and Makueni County Referral Hospitals. Currently we have a bed capacity of over 312 beds at our treatment centers

b) Trained our health workers and equipped health facilities with PPEs to respond to covid-19

c) Trained opinion leaders, community health volunteers, community resource volunteers, area development committee members and youth groups all totaling to over 50,000 persons

d) Created awareness on coronavirus through various channels including radio, TV and community level campaigns

e) Continued with cross border surveillance where we’ve screened 189,559 at border entry point at Mtito Andei and Kibwezi

Turning to the covid19 situation in Makueni we wish to highlight the following

a) The county has as at today recorded 11 positive cases.

b) We have been able to successfully treat and discharge 1(one) confirmed positive patient and 18 of his contacts who had been quarantined in our Makindu quarantine/isolation facility

c) Currently there are 10 active cases of confirmed covid19 cases currently admitted at the covid19 treatment centre at Makueni County referral hospital. All the ten cases are people working in the hotel industry (1 from Kilome, 2 from Kibwezi East and 7 from Kibwezi West).

d) We have traced 150 people who are contacts of the 10 positive cases and the process of transferring them to the isolation facility in Makindu is ongoing

e) Regrettably, 6 people of Makueni origin have succumbed to the disease while being managed in facilities outside the county but their burials have been conducted under supervision of our public health officers. We wish to convey our message of condolence to the affected families

The County Coronavirus Emergency Response Committee has noted with concern some people are disregarding the laid down protocols and regulations and wishes to reiterate the following:

1. No eatery or hotel/restaurant will be allowed to operate without full adherence to the guidelines from the Ministry of Health. To date only 30 restaurants and eateries have met the set requirements. All those flouting the guidelines will be arrested, charged and have their licenses revoked. All vendors are reminded that no one is above the law and should at all times adhere to the strict guidelines attached to licensure

2. Bars and sale of liquor is banned as per previous county and national government pronouncements. Those found in contravention of the law will be charged and have their licenses revoked

3. Places of worship remain closed and digital content transmission is only allowed under issued guidelines

4. All forms of gatherings including political and social gatherings remain banned until otherwise guided. We remind members of the public that burials and weddings are restricted to a maximum of 15 close family members observing physical and social distancing

5. Hawking remains banned. All vendors found hawking especially to trucks along Mombasa road will be apprehended

6. No truck driver will be allowed into Makueni County unless they possess a covid19 free certificate. All those without this certificate will be turned back to their point of origin. We wish to remind all truck drivers and transport companies that drivers are required to take the covid19 test at their point of origin, 48 hours before they commence their journeys and in any case, have their certificates as at the time of commencement of journey

7. We continue to remind our people that movement into and out of Mombasa and Nairobi is restricted and therefore those sneaking into the county from these places will be dealt with as per the law.

H. E. Prof. Kivutha Kibwana
Governor
MAKUENI COUNTY

 

M. A. Maalim,
County Commissioner
MAKUENI COUNTY

Press Statement: Resolutions of Makueni County Emergency Response Committee

PRESS STATEMENT

RESOLUTIONS OF MAKUENI COUNTY EMERGENCY RESPONSE COMMITTEE

1.Suspend all market days with immediate effect

2.Immediate suspension of night club operation hours; all liquor licensed outlets to operate 5pm-11pm including weekends.

3.All social gatherings such as sporting, leisure, muguka & miraa chewing joints etc are suspended with immediate effect

4.Public transport to observe hygiene – no touting, use hand washing facilities with preferably liquid soap or use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers at the stages.

5.Boda boda riders to have hand washing facilities with preferably liquid soap or use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers at the various stages

6.All public places to have hand washing facilities with preferably liquid soap or use alcohol-based hand sanitizers – markets, shops, hotels, supermarkets, malls, places of work, public gyms, etc

7.Minimize gatherings –weddings, religious gathering, trainings, meetings, workshops, AGMs, seminars etc

8.We encourage funeral attendance to be limited to close family members and other relatives.

9.Learning is suspended in all institutions (including ECDEs and CTTIs) from:
Day institutions – Monday 16th
Boarding – Wednesday 18th
Tertiary by Friday 20th

10.Enhance sanitation especially along Mombasa road stop overs with hand washing facilities with preferably liquid soap or use alcohol-based hand sanitizers.

11.Purchase of masks necessary when prescribed by healthcare workers

12.Emphasis on hand washing facilities with preferably liquid soap as well as alcohol-based hand sanitizers at our homes.

13.Hospital visits to be limited to designated visitors.

14.Community engagement on education and sanitation will be provided

15.Continuous communication through media to be undertaken – updates, health talks.

16.Traders to observe consumer protection by maintaining fair prices.

17.Members of public are encouraged to avoid panic buying of consumer goods.

County preparedness:

a. Continuous training of health workers

b. Identification and preparation of isolation centers in all sub counties

c. Routine health talks will be undertaken

d. Continuous disease surveillance

e. Availability of personal protective equipment in our health facilities.

f. Availability of adequate supplies to handle all illnesses

g. Availability of psychosocial support services

h. Training of community health volunteers to deal with the pandemic

i. Availability of county operational command centre with ambulance services and dedicated hotline: 0790 777 756.