All visitors to Siaya County will be subjected to mandatory Coronavirus screening to ascertain their status to ensure that suspect cases were quarantined, but at their own cost.
The Siaya governor, Cornel Rasanga who chaired the county emergency response team along with the County Commissioner (CC), Michael ole Tialal also directed natives working outside the area to stay wherever they were until the end of the pandemic to avert spread of the highly contagious viral disease at their rural home.
Addressing the media after the team’s meeting last Saturday, governor Rasanga said the team had already kicked off the screening exercise at all border entry points into the county including those from neighbouring Uganda.
“Yesterday, we kicked off the screening where we managed a total of 3,450 people of which 2,045 were screened at Akala market near the border with Kisumu county while another 1,405 underwent the same process along the Siaya – Luanda road.
Rasanga said that those traveling to Siaya from other areas must be ready to pay for their quarantine expenses established facilities, should they be found to exhibit signs of the virus.
“If it is necessary that you must come to Siaya County, come with your pockets full since you will be quarantined at a cost of Sh2, 000 daily for 14 days should you exhibit the signs,” he said.
On contact tracing, the governor said that they had so far traced 247 people who came into contact with an Italian priest who visited the county mid last month. He said that out of those contacts, 143 were tested, with the results coming out negative.
“So far, Siaya is COVID-19 negative and we would like the situation to remain the same,” he said and called on all Siaya residents to ensure that the situation was maintained by adhering to the recommended measurers.
The CC said national and county government officials were working round the clock to ensure that the virus was kept at bay.
Tialal however, decried that a few people were still not adhering to the guidelines of Social distancing and hand washing and singled out some bar operators who have been secretly opening their premises for clients by locking them inside in the evenings, adding that stern action would be taken against them.
“Some bar operators are clandestinely allowing people into their premises and locking them in. This must stop as we shall arrest them,” he said.
By Philip Onyango
