Residents fill the pinch of Eastleigh lockdown
Hand carts are used as roadblocks at Second Avenue in Eastleigh on May 8, 2020. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Thirteen of the cases confirmed Thursday were picked up from surveillance efforts, which include targeted testing.
- Asymptomatic people have been fingered by the CDC as contributing more than a quarter of all the transmissions.
Those living on the edge of or working in Eastleigh’s largely informal economy are finding it difficult to adhere to the lockdown effected this week.
The restriction of movement was imposed to slow down the spread of the novel coronavirus in the area, which has been flagged as a hotspot.
Conversations with the locals revealed that each day of the lockdown deepens their worries on how they will fend for themselves.
At the same time, Miraa traders from Meru complained that they had been denied access to the Pumwani market due to the restriction of movement.
In a speech read by Ministry of Health Chief Administrative Secretary Rashid Aman, it was revealed that the country’s Covid-19 infections tally had risen by 14 to 621 in the past 24 hours. So far 29,430 samples have been tested.
Of the 14, 10 are from Nairobi, three from Mombasa and one from Machakos — the first in the county. There are now 19 counties with confirmed cases.
Thirteen of the cases confirmed Thursday were picked up from surveillance efforts, which include targeted testing.
In Nairobi, the cases were reported in Kasarani (four), Makadara (two), and one each in Umoja, South C, and Irigu in Dagoretti South.
SILENT KILLERS
Acting Director-General of Health Patrick Amoth said that the ministry had suspended targeted testing in the area. He added that the ministry was expecting 16,000 test kits on Wednesday, after which the testing would resume.
Eastleigh makes up a substantial part of Kamukunji Constituency, which has a population of more than 268,000, according to the 2019 census data.
It is the second most populated area in Nairobi — with more than 25,000 people per square kilometre — after Mathare.
Medical anthropologist Salome Bukachi - from the University of Nairobi - said that the matters have been complicated by the observance of Ramadhan by the Muslim majority in the area.
While acknowledging the interruption on their lives, the ministry expressed concern that many residents were scheming to get out of the area.
Dr Amoth told journalists he was particularly concerned by the 15 to 39 age group. He said they were “silent killers” because none of them has died so far despite making up more than a third of those who have tested positive for the disease.
He added that they are also not developing symptoms. Those who do not fall sick, medically known as asymptomatic cases, have been fingered by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as contributing more than a quarter of all the transmissions.
Dr Amoth also noted that the cold and damp weather is likely to aid the spread of the virus.
