Top officials camp at Siaya’s virus ground zero

Top government officials visited Siaya County on Wednesday following its first confirmed Covid-19 death as it emerged that a second case had tested positive and was isolated at a local facility.

The team, which included Ministry of Health acting Director-General Patrick Amoth, visited the home of the Kenya Ports Authority employee who succumbed to the disease and the quarantine centre located inside the Kenya Medical Training College Siaya campus, where 64 people believed to have had primary and secondary contact with the deceased are quarantined.

They had earlier inspected the isolation ward at Siaya County Referral Hospital and held a closed-door meeting with the County Emergency Response Team led by Governor Cornel Rasanga and County Commissioner Michael Ole Tialal.

COME FORWARD

Speaking after the meeting, Dr Amoth asked those who may have been in contact with former KPA employee James Oyugi Onyango to come forward and be tested voluntarily.

He emphasised the need for close cooperation and collaboration between the public and the multi-agency team that was working to reduce the spread of the virus across the country.

He noted that the government will continue to trace more contacts, isolate and treat them as an appropriate strategy to deal with the pandemic.

The county’s Covid-19 response team has traced 64 contacts, who are quarantined at the Siaya KMTC campus.

Sources in the emergency team, who asked not to be identified because they are not allowed to speak to the press, said 14 samples had been taken to Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) labs in Kisumu for testing.

The sources indicated that, as of yesterday, the team was still waiting for the results of nine samples from Kemri.

Results from five samples taken to Kemri showed that one case was positive, according to reliable sources.

Tracking coronavirus