(KDRTV)-Governors have threatened to compel President Uhuru Kenyatta to lock down counties that will put lives of the public at risk after failing to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus
In a statement seen by KDRTV on Wednesday, June 15, the Council of Governors (CoG) chaired by Kakamega governors Wycliffe Oparanya, revealed their discontentment on how the country is wielding the pandemic casually notwithstanding the surge in the number of cases
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“In the event that the situation gets dire, individual county governments will have no choice but in consultation with President Uhuru Kenyatta, seek to lock down the affected county to contain the rapid spread and protect lives,” the CoG warned.
KDRTV also recognizes that at the end of July, President Uhuru Kenyatta is awaited to address the nation and issue a directive relating to the National Emergency Response Committee on Coronavirus recommendations
“In the next 21 days, we shall study patterns of interactions and the spread of the disease. Any trends that signal a worsening of the pandemic, we will have no choice but to return to the lock-down at zero-option,” President Kenyatta stated on July 6.
In the statement, CoG chairman also highlighted the dimensions that have been taken by the various county to safeguard Kenyans from the cruelty of the dreadful virus
Oparanya announced that the 47 county governments have set aside 271 isolation healthcare facilities with 12,034 beds in total to battle the respiratory disease.
The counties have also cumulatively afforded 447 ICU beds and 437 ventilators
Oparanya also urged the government to improve the testing capacities within county clusters to ensure no delay of test results
“The [testing turnaround] time has been delayed from the initial 24 hours to 7 days. This is not good enough in this war,” Oparanya criticised.
At the same time, the county governments have constituted infection prevention committees to ensure compliance of the safety measures imposed by the Ministry of Health
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So far, the statement disclosed that 23,280 healthcare workers have undergone training and 68,213 community health volunteers are ready for deployment
