A Senior police officer based in Kirinyaga County received the shock of his life to learn that he has been barred by his immediate family from coming home for fear he could be infected with the corona virus.
The officer told the area multi-agency committee for the fight against the virus that his wife of 20 years had told him never to go home until the pandemic was over.
“My wife of 20 years has told me never to set foot at our family home since she fears I have been exposed to the coronavirus due to the nature of my duty as going home would mean I could infect them,” the officer, whose name is withheld, told the attentive committee chaired by local County Commissioner (CC), Jim Njoka.
He said even as they worked round the clock to enforce the curfew, they had not been provided with the necessary gear to protect them from contacting the virus.
“As we work round the clock with my juniors to enforce the night curfew imposed by the government, none of us has neither a mask nor any other protective gear yet we interact with many people some of whom could already be infected thereby exposing us to the virus ,” he eloquently told the committee.
The committee heard how there were possibilities of putting an entire police station to quarantine since even those arrested were brought in by officers who were still unprotected.
“This is a serious matter that requires an urgent solution lest we end up having all the officers and their families infected with this virus,” the officer told the committee.
Njoka assured the law enforcers that their concerns would be addressed urgently. He said, “We have already raised the concerns to the national government but it must be understood that so far no budget has been provided to us down here at the county level.
The County Public Health Officer, Evans Kago told the committee already there were seven suspected cases in the area.
He said some were at the Red Soil section in Mwea, Karoti village, Ngurubani town Kagumo market, Murinduko and, Kiaritha villages after some returnees jetted into the country on March 17.
Kago however, said the suspected cases were under self-quarantine but expressed fears that due to shared amenities they could easily infect their immediate neighbors.
The committee recommended that all suspected cases be sent on compulsory quarantine facilities namely disused dispensaries which are scattered all over the county.
“This way the costs of such self-quarantine would be minimal since the kin to such suspects will be taking food and other requirements to them under strict observance of the rules set aside by the government,” Njoka said.
Public health officers accompanied by two police officers will be visiting the suspects and their families to check on their state, according to Njoka.
By Irungu Mwangi
