On May 31, 2020, Kwale Governor Salim Mvurya revealed that 67 per cent of the population of Kwale County had been severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking at various functions, Mvurya stated that over 6,000 people had lost their jobs in the tourism sector alone. To mitigate the effects of the pandemic, the county had taken several steps, including distributing foodstuff worth Sh14.5 million to the most vulnerable families.
The governor also announced that a COVID-19 center had been built at the Msambweni hospital, and that the county continued to test and quarantine people, including at its borders with Tanzania and Mombasa county.
Mvurya expressed gratitude to the national government for initiating the National Hygiene Programme (NHP), also known as the 'Kazi Mtaani' initiative, which had engaged 1,000 youth from Matuga and Msambweni sub-counties.
He requested that the programme be expanded to include youth from Lunga Lunga and Kinango sub-counties in the second phase.
Permanent Secretaries Charles Hinga and Andrew Kamau, who paid a courtesy call on the Governor, announced that Kwale County had emerged as the best among the eight counties in the Kazi Mtaani programme.
They attributed the county's success to Governor Mvurya's good leadership and promised to increase the slots for the second phase and consider his request to expand the programme to Lunga Lunga and Kinango sub-counties.
