Truckers passing Machakos will only stop for fueling –Governor Alfred Mutua

Machakos County Government has set measures to curb the likely
spread of Covid-19 from truckers.

Speaking on Monday, Governor Alfred Mutua said the county
will soon begin screening travelers in and out of the county.

“As a precautionary measure, lorries passing through
Machakos are only allowed to stop for refueling so as to keep interaction with
locals at a minimum. Travelers into and passing through Machakos will soon
begin to be checked for COVID-19 certification,” said Governor Mutua.

The governor said that his administration is keen on implementing
government directives, including even county lockdown if need be, to contain
the increasing spread.

“As a government, we support the President’s directive on
extending lockdown. The increasing number of Covid-19 cases in the country,
especially counties that previously did not have Covid-19 cases, indicates that
our borders are still porous and community spread is rampant,” said the County
boss.

Mutua further said that Truckers from Mombasa will be
required to present their Covid-19-free certificate so as to pass through the
county.

“Truck drivers tested in Mombasa will need to present their
Covid-19 negative certification so as to be allowed to proceed into our County,”
he said.

He called upon all law enforcement officers, both from the
National and County government inspectorate to ensure that these directives are
complied with.

On the county’s preparedness, the governor said he has
installed 15 ICU beds; 10 in public hospitals and 5 in private institutions.

We have also ordered for 10 ICU beds and equipment that will
push our numbers to 25 full equipped ICU beds, 350 isolation beds and a
capacity to expand this to 1,000 at short notice,” he said.

The county also has 9 dedicated ambulances (One per
Sub-County) to handle all COVID-19 suspected cases, a certified testing lab at
Machakos level 5 and also schedule weekly meetings by the Machakos Multi Agency
Covid-19 committee.

The governor also urged the county residents and all
citizens to continue complying with the government guidelines on COVID-19
prevention, “so as to curb the spread and keep our people safe from infection.”