This archive report was first published on 13 July 2020.
Kenya: No COVID-19 Testing for Travellers Traversing South Rift Counties ¶
Following the easing of movement restrictions by President Uhuru Kenyatta, counties in the South Rift region of Kenya have seen an influx of travellers. However, most of these counties lack the necessary structures and measures to monitor the health statuses of hundreds of people passing through the area.
According to reports, Nakuru, Narok, Laikipia, and Samburu are some of the areas relying on community health volunteers and community policing personnel to monitor the behaviours of people travelling to the villages. However, the health department in Nakuru has stated that it has no capacity to check the thousands of travellers for body temperatures or any other symptoms related to COVID-19.
County Public Health Chief Officer Samuel King'ori explained that Nakuru is a link route to many counties, and travellers who pass through the region are mainly destined to other places. He noted that the county has placed community health workers in every sub-county who monitor those who travel to their areas and quarantine them when necessary.
Despite the measures being taken to control the spread of COVID-19, most of those interviewed by the Nation said they had not been tested or approached by health officials even after they travelled. Former Gilgil MP Mathenge Ndiritu, who was holed up in Nairobi following the cessation of movement order, told the Nation that he remained indoors at his residence at the time of the pandemic and rarely ventured out.
Paul Njoroge, a resident of Laikipia, travelled from Nairobi to Nyahururu with his family just two days after the cessation of movement order was lifted. He said that their business was among thousands that have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and they have been waiting for this moment so that they can travel back upcountry.
On testing for the virus, Mr Njoroge said that they were yet to be subjected to the test, noting that they have been careful in observing the Health Ministry protocols while in Nairobi. Daniel Kimbue, who travelled on Thursday last week from Nairobi where he worked as a hawker and resided in Umoja estate, has not been tested but believes that he is free of the virus, judging by how he has been careful in observing the Health Ministry protocols while in Nairobi.
