Meru residents have been urged to ignore leaders trying to politicise government initiatives geared towards combating COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking in his office today, area County Commissioner Alan Machari said the responsibility of containing the spread of coronavirus beyond the already affected areas was collective and added no individual should jeopardise efforts to curb the pandemic.
Machari said there was no room for politicians to embark on seeking public attention through the media at the expense of ordinary citizens who were the most vulnerable to the pandemic due to their socio-economic status.
He said the national and county officials in the area had pulled resources and personnel to reinforce measures put in place to ensure people living in urban and rural areas stayed safe from the risk of the pandemic.
The administrator challenged those focused on raising their political profile to abandon the idea and channel the energy into existing programmes geared towards keeping the Meru people safe and healthy.
Machari dismissed claims of positive cases of coronavirus in the county as mere malice and reckless talk and assured the public that Meru had not recorded a single coronavirus case since the first case was confirmed in the country in March this year.
The commissioner reiterated that security agents were on high alert to catch up with anybody trying to cause unnecessary panic among residents saying nobody would be spared the consequences of having to face the full force of the law for loose talk.
Machari urged all categories of leaders in the county to come out in support of government initiatives geared towards having the public get sensitised on the reality of the pandemic and its effects in the country and globally, along with educating them on the best way to remain safe.
He said everybody had an obligation to strictly adhere to directives from the Ministry of Health in partnership with relevant players in the promotion of public health as a way of playing their part in flattening the curve on infections and deaths caused by the virus.
The administrator said containing the pandemic in the county would play a role in reducing cases in the country which would translate to a change in the global data in terms of infections and deaths.
By Makaa Margaret