Migori health officials deny Covid-19 outbreak in family
Migori health officials said 48 contacts were traced and tested and only 14 turned positive. PHOTO | AFP
What you need to know:
- Moses Osoro, a Covid-19 victim, succumbed to the virus and was laid to rest in Suna East on Wednesday.
- Following his death, his brother Gordon Ogolla, who is a lawyer based in Nakuru and a former Migori County Assembly Speaker, took to social media to say that 48 members of his family have contracted the virus.
Health officials in Migori have denied reports that 48 family members tested positive for Covid-19.
On Wednesday during the daily coronavirus briefing, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe did not deny the reports and said the spread of the virus in the Migori family was triggered by a member who had travelled from Nairobi.
Speaking to Nation, Migori Health executive Isca Oluoch termed the reports as misleading and meant to cause unnecessary panic among locals.
Dr Oluoch, however, confirmed that seven members of the same family were positive for Covid-19 after 48 samples were collected from the extended family and tested.
She said the 48 were primary and secondary contacts of one case.
“Out of the 48 samples, 14 turned positive and of the 14 only seven are from one family,” she said.
Moses Osoro, a member of the Migori family, succumbed to the virus and was laid to rest in Suna East on Wednesday. Osoro was a senior government official in the Ministry of Devolution.
Following his death, his brother Gordon Ogolla, who is a lawyer based in Nakuru and a former Migori County Assembly Speaker, took to social media to say that his entire family has contracted the virus from one of his elder brothers.
Mr Ogolla revealed that his 61-year-old brother had died of the disease while his 80-year-old mother is battling the virus at a private hospital in Nairobi.
“Everyone who came into contact with my mum, including my stepmother, daughters-in-law, the grandchildren, cousins and farmhands have tested positive,” read part of his WhatsApp message seen by the Nation.
On Wednesday, Mr Ogolla beat a hasty retreat saying the message was blown out of proportion and “was intended to sensitise the public on the gravity of the pandemic.”
“My intention was to tell Kenyans how serious the Covid matter is and shared my thoughts in one of the WhatsApp groups. I only learnt that the matter had been blown out of proportion when I read about it in the local dailies,” he said during the burial of his brother Osoro on Wednesday.
