The Chief Officer in the department of Health in Elgeyo Marakwet County Mary Kipchumba has urged residents to present themselves to receive the Covid-19 vaccine as the county records an upsurge of Covid-19 cases.
The CO said the county has been among those recording low Covid-19 infections but the situation is changing saying the cases have risen from 13 in July to 77 this month.
“We have been experiencing a surge in Covid-19 cases for the last three months. In July we had 13 cases, August we had 66 and by mid this month we had already recorded 77 cases,” she said.
Kipchumba was speaking when she received 34 handwashing facilities from a non-governmental organization SNV which will be installed in schools and other public facilities such as open air markets.
She said that they will be receiving 300 more handwashing facilities to be distributed in the four sub counties in the county to help in combating the spread of Covid-19 and other communicable diseases.
The CO added that these facilities will target vulnerable households in the rural community who have no access to such facilities in order to curb the spread of the pandemic.
She added that the handwashing facilities have come in handy at a time when there is a rise of the positive cases.
While encouraging people to continue washing their hands, she urged residents to continue turning up at vaccination centres to get vaccinated against the disease saying so far 13,000 people have received their first dose and 6,000 receiving their second dos
The CO said the vaccines are available in all health facilities across the county to ensure that as many people can access them.
Kenneth Kimaiyo, the Elgeyo Marakwet County Civil Society Organization coordinator said that the CSO has been engaging with various stakeholders to convey messages that encourage people to continue to adhere to the protocols to stop further spread of the virus.
By Walter Kibet and Alice Wanjiru
