The Kwale county government on Tuesday launched its second walkthrough sanitizing booth for disinfection at the Kombani Methadone Centre where hundreds of drug addicts are being rehabilitated.
Last month the county unveiled its first sanitizing tunnel for disinfection at the entrance of the Ukunda market to contain the spread of the pandemic.
Buyers and sellers at the market can be seen filing and passing through the sanitizing booth containing a disinfectant that is supposed to kill the pathogen responsible for coronavirus.
Residents interviewed by KNA said the ultra-modern COVID-19 booths give them some psychological stability on being safe from the virus.
The Deputy Governor (DG), Fatuma Achani said the new sanitizing tunnel was set up with the help of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Reach out Trust, Teens Watch, and Cosmas Maina Foundation.
She appealed for more support from stakeholders as the county government strives to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and bring growth and development.
The DG said the county has progressively built its capacity in fighting the spread of coronavirus, saying the provision of the sanitizing tunnels was meant to rid the county of the pandemic that unsettled the world through the disruption of socio-economic activities.
She said the sanitizing tunnel has been installed at the entrance to the drug rehabilitation centre to contain the spread of the novel COVID-19.
Achani said once people walk through the booth they will get sprayed with a solution meant to fight the coronavirus.
“This booth will benefit more than 700 youths currently at the drug rehabilitation centre who are fighting addiction,” she said on Tuesday.
She went on “I urge every one of us to conform to the new way of life and adhere to all the public health regulations in place to mitigate the spread of the viral disease”.
On Saturday, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the cessation of movement order affecting Kwale and Kilifi counties, citing successful containment of the coronavirus.
The DG said Kwale will not let its guard down despite the county’s success in bringing down the number of positive cases.
“There should be no room for complacency for us to win the war against the pandemic,” she said adding that the relevant health authorities would remain vigilant especially when the number of positive cases in the neighbouring Mombasa County continues to increase.
By Hussein Abdullahi
