County drafts additional measures to combat spread of Coronavirus

The Vihiga County Government has drafted extra measures in a bid to mitigate the spread of Coronavirus.
Outlining the measures as he addressed the press in Mbale town on Friday, Vihiga Governor Dr. Wilber Ottichilo revealed that the County Coronavirus Command Centre has been set up at the County headquarters, with mini command centres set up across all the sub counties down to villages.
He explained that the main command centre will be responsible for coordination of all Coronavirus related activities across the County.
The Governor added the Vihiga county isolation centre has been set up at the County Referral Hospital in Mbale to handle any suspected cases of Coronavirus with another support centre set up at Keveye Vocational Training Centre at Majengo.
“We have set up two isolation centres in the County to handle any cases of Coronavirus which may arise. The main centre is at our County Referral Hospital in Mbale where as the one at Keveye VTC will handle cases of forced quarantine,” he explained.
As he urged residents to stay home and observe guidelines set in place by the government to prevent spread of the virus, Ottichilo warned that anyone out to frustrate the efforts risked arrest and prosecution.
“We will win the war against the Coronavirus if our people adhere to the measures the government has put in place. Consequently I have suspended all sporting activities in the County.
Our youth should stay away from playing fields as much as they can. Those who contravene this will be arrested,” he warned.
Meanwhile, Governor Ottichilo revealed that training of health workers in the County on infection and prevention of COVID-19 which has been cascaded down to health volunteers is ongoing under the guidance of the eight health workers who were trained by the national government.
The training will at a later stage target other government officers and the wider public at large.
Present during the exercise was Vihiga County Commissioner Ochillo Oyugi who reminded residents that the curfew hours should be observed at all costs.
“We call upon the public to observe the 7pm to 5am curfew hours to avoid being found on the wrong side of the law. Open air markets shall continue to be closed until further notice. Social distancing is a must,” he warned.
By Isaiah Nayika