This archive report was first published on 13 May 2020.
On March 26, 2020, Machakos County launched a fumigation exercise in response to the Covid-19 outbreak, targeting all eight sub-counties in the area.
As of May 13, 2020, the number of people confirmed to have been infected with Covid-19 in Machakos County had risen to five, following the confirmation of two new cases.
The two new cases, both males, included a truck driver who was in transit from Malaba and a 32-year-old man who had sneaked into the county from Kwale County four days ago.
According to Dr. Ancent Kituku, the County Executive for Health, the truck driver was picked up at Mlolongo after test results carried on him showed he had contracted the deadly virus.
He had initially been tested at Malaba for the virus before being cleared to continue with his journey.
The second case patient had initially travelled from Tanzania to Kwale County, where he was put into quarantine for 14 days as required by public health regulations.
However, upon the expiry of the period, he hiked a long-distance truck to Makutano Kyumvi in Machakos before proceeding to Kathiani to see his in-laws.
He was picked up by health teams and immediately taken to Kathiani level 4 hospital after a public outcry erupted over his presence in the area.
Samples taken from him later tested positive for Covid-19 at the Machakos Level 5 hospital.
Both patients were asymptomatic and were currently admitted at the Kinanie Isolation facility in Mavoko Sub County, as health officials embarked on tracing all those who came into contact with them.
“The two patients will now be managed from Mavoko Sub County at Kinanie Isolation facility. Noticeably, the two are not symptomatic,” confirmed Dr. Kituku.
Dr. Kituku advised the public to adhere to health guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health to prevent the disease, warning that the county may be staring at a hike in cases due to illegal cross-county border movements between Nairobi and Machakos.
“We urge our members of the public to continue observing all the precautionary measures as advised by the national and county government. We expect the number of cases to rise in coming days owing to mushrooming of illegal entry points that people are using to sneak in and out of the county, which is partly to blame for many of the new infections,” he explained.
On whether the county had begun screening those visiting health centers for Covid-19, Dr. Kituku said they were waiting for official communication from Nairobi.
He faulted the idea of screening each and every individual coming to seek treatment, citing cost and logistical implications.
“Are we saying before the public visit health facilities we must test them? If that’s the question, how do we get the sample collection kits to that lower facility?” he posed.
As of May 12, 2020, Kenya had recorded a total of 715 infections, 259 recoveries, and 36 deaths arising from the pandemic.
