Nyeri governor, Mutahi Kahiga, has called for the immediate return of Covid-19 protocols to curb the rising number of Covid-19 cases in Nyeri County.
Kahiga says that in the last three weeks the county’s positivity rate has shot up to 31 percent owing to the reluctance by Nyeri residents to adhere to the Ministry of Health Covid-19 protocols.
According to the county boss, 33 patients are currently admitted in various isolation facilities after contracting the virus.
“We have realised that Nyeri residents are no longer wearing masks, neither are they washing their hands or avoiding crowded places and these have led to the rapid spread of the disease,” he said.
“In the last three weeks we have witnessed a sharp increase in Covid-19 infections. Out of every 100 people we have tested so far, 31 of them have tested positive for Covid and this clearly shows that our positivity rate is on the rise,” added the governor.
Kahiga also noted that more than half of those currently admitted in the isolation facilities had not been inoculated.
Further, the number of those getting vaccinated had reduced drastically adding in last one month the department of health has administered 1,103 shots of the first dose and 1,419 shots of the second dose of the Covid-19 jab.
“It is important for Nyeri residents to know that getting vaccinated can actually reduce their chances of contracting the virus. Vaccines are available and are being administered across all health facilities in the county for free,” he said during a press briefing on the county Covid status.
The governor also announced the return of aggressive public sensitisation which he said is aimed at reinforcing the Ministry of Health Covid-19 protocols and encouraging the unvaccinated population to get jabbed.
Kahiga further pleaded with politicians to advocate for adherence to Covid-19 preventive measures among their followers adding that political gatherings had contributed to the high infections.
“The County intergovernmental Covid-19 Emergency committee has resolved to immediately activate the weekly County and Sub-county multi-agency review and coordination committee meetings.In addition, premises that attract public gatherings, must ensure all staff and clients always wear face masks. They should all have a functional hand-washing facility with soap and running water, ”said Kahiga.
By Tuesday, 344,834 people in Nyeri had received their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine while 280,693 had received their second shot. Another 19,107 have also received their booster doses.
