Gvt Spokesman Oguna impersonator causes a scare before clarification is made

Government spokesperson Cyrus Oguna addresses the media on Corona virus threat. [George Njunge, Standard]

Government spokesperson Cyrus Oguna says the viral audio clip making rounds on social media claiming that the Coronavirus is in Kenya is fake.

“For the avoidance of doubt, there has been no reported case of Covid-19 in the country,” he said.

The 4:26 minutes clip claims that there are confirmed cases of Coronavirus with 63 people quantified in Mbagathi hospital, Nairobi.

It further names Nairobi, Kisumu, and Mombasa as the towns that are mainly affected.

In the audio, a person impersonating the government spokesman also lists the signs and symptoms to look out for as well besides sharing a fake phone number where people can call to get help.

The clip has caused panic among the members of the public.

Colonel (Rtd) Oguna assured Kenyans that the government has put in place measures to monitor and screen all passengers transiting through or originating from countries with the reported outbreak of the deadly virus.

Col. Oguna has warned impersonators spreading the rumours calling it a criminal offence.

“These fake and alarmists rumours have been forwarded to the cybercrime unit at DCI for investigation, arrest, and prosecution of the authors and those spreading the same,” he added.

Col. Oguna cautioned the public from listening to rumours making it clear that all Government communication regarding the virus would be officially communicated by the Cabinet Secretary for Health or the Government Spokesperson.

According to Col. Oguna, there is no cause for alarm over Coronavirus.

Meanwhile, the Kenya Progressive Nurses Association (KPNA) is urging the Government to provide them with the vital resources and training to be protected from the virus in the event it gets to the country.

In a press conference on Monday KPNA chair Michael Nyongesa said the nurses were the ones at high risk and at the forefront of being contaminated by the virus.

“Nurses are the frontline officers in health care, but they could also be frontline officers to the exposure of infections and also the frontline of defense against this new deadly virus,” he said.

He further said that the Government had neither given them the way forward nor the right measures of protecting themselves from the virus.

“We are concerned about the availability of protective gear for the nurses that may work with infected cases. Nurses are the ones who are highly exposed to the virus and we are urging the government to provide the nurses with protective measures.

Nyongesa further urged the government to work around the clock in training nurses around the country before a catastrophe strikes.

 “We need proper training on how to deal with the menace it gets to the country. It’s good to be prepared. So far no nurse or healthcare worker has been trained”.

This comes after the newly sworn-in Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe on Friday pledged to the public that the Government was ready for the Virus.

The death toll of the virus has now hit 3,000.