Coronavirus: State now aims to trace all travellers

Senator Mary Seneta applies hand sanitiser as her colleague Johnes Mwaruma keeps his distance before attending a Senate special sitting on Tuesday. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

A multi-agency team has been set up to co-ordinate all activities related to controlling the spread of the coronavirus disease in the country.

The team that comprises officials from the Health ministry, police, intelligence services, military and ambulance service providers, is using technology to trace and forcibly quarantine individuals who had travelled to high-risk countries but failed to self-isolate on their return.

Taxi drivers who ferried the suspected infected individuals, especially from airports, are also being sought.

The team that is based at the Embakasi Garrison has information on all travellers, especially from the US, Europe and Middle East, and it is tracking the individuals’ activities to establish if they observed the mandatory self-isolation rules.

President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday praised the team that is said to be working closely with telecommunication service providers to fulfill its mandate.

On Tuesday, Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot complained that State officials had rounded up parliamentary staff who arrived in the country on March 8 and taken them to Kasarani for quarantine.

The Senate subsequently sent a letter to the ministries of Interior and Health demanding an explanation, even as sources said the team has a list of people it is looking for.

“Technology is now the main driver in tracing these individuals who are seen as the main agents of the disease spread,” said an official aware of the developments.

Officials expect the numbers of those infected to rise in the coming weeks as more people are tested for Covid-19.

The team has reportedly been updating five key committees set up by President Kenyatta to manage the country’s response to the pandemic.

The committees consist of officials from the Executive and counties who are monitoring various operations across the country.

Operational briefs

The National Co-ordination Committee on the Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic is the central team that gets frequent operational briefs.

It consists of the Cabinet secretaries for Interior, Health, National Treasury, Defence and Agriculture, the Head of the Public Service, the chairman of the Council of Governors, State House Chief of Staff, Chief of Defence Forces, National Intelligence Service director general, Interior Principal Secretary and deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Strategy.

The committee is backed by four other teams. These are the County Government Co-ordination and Food Supply Committee, National Emergency Response Committee, National Economic and Business Response Committee, and Security Preparedness and Response Committee.