Scare as 7 MCAs test positive for Covid-19

 

Mombasa County Assembly. [Omondi Onyango, Standard]

Seven Ward Reps in Mombasa County have tested positive for Covid-19, sparking fear in the 42-member House.

County Assembly Speaker Khatri Harub confirmed that one of the patients was admitted to hospital while six others were isolated in their houses.

Mr Harub said samples from all the 42 MCAs were taken last week for testing and most of the legislators got the test results yesterday morning.

According to Harub, the MCAs were tested as a precautionary measure ahead of the opening of the assembly that was planned for yesterday. The assembly was on a two-week recess.

Reopening postponed

He said reopening of the assembly had to be postponed for two weeks to facilitate contact tracing and testing of hundreds of assembly staff.

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed cases in schools hit by Covid-19 in Mombasa has gone up after 20 more people tested positive, according to figures released yesterday.

Mombasa County Director of Public Health Salma Swaleh said 16 more people, out the 120 samples taken from teachers and students at Tononoka Secondary School, tested positive.

This pushes the number of those infected at Tononoka to 27. It was not clear how many of those infected were students or teachers.

On Monday, the school’s principal Mohammed Khamis died of breathing complications at the Mombasa Hospital, where he was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit.

Dr Swaleh said four more people had tested positive for the disease at Star of the Sea Secondary School, raising the number of teachers and students infested with the virus at the institution to eight.

In the western region, four counties reported a spike in infections. More than 40 health workers in Kakamega County have tested positive for Covid-19 in the last seven days.

According to Dr Antony Akoto, the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union Western branch, the medics were exposed to Covid-19 due to inadequate supply of Personal Protective Equipment.

Mass testing

The Kakamega County Assembly has also suspended sittings for two weeks to pave way for mass testing for MCAs on Thursday.

In Vihiga, at least 17 health workers tested positive. County Health Executive Amos Kutwa said the numbers were likely to rise.

Elsewhere, Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers officials in Kakamega have called for closure of schools to tame a new Covid-19 wave.

Kakamega branch chair Johnston Wabuti said it had become impossible for learners to observe Ministry of Health safety measures.

[Reports by Bernard Sanga, Joackim Bwana, John Shilitsa and Nathan Ochunge]