Nyamira Assembly suspends sittings after staff tests positive for Covid-19

The County Assembly of Nyamira has suspended its sittings after a member of staff tested positive for Covid-19.

Speaker Moffat Teya, in a circular to the staff members and Members of the Assembly, said the House had been closed for the next 21 days pending further evaluation of the situation.

Teya indicated in the memo that the House would revert to virtual meetings and that physical sessions would only be conducted when there are urgent legislative businesses that will require the presence of the members.

"As an institution, we tried to see to it that basic preventive measures which include the provision of sanitisers and face masks are put in place. However, more needs to be done to win this war. Regrettably, there is already a positive case in the Assembly and contact tracing is going on," Teya said.

County Health Executive Douglass Bosire said the confirmed case was tested in Kisii County and that the staff resides in the town where the case was documented.

Bosire said the patient is on self-isolation and was receiving home-based care at his family home in Nyamira.

"The staff is currently receiving treatment at his home and the County Surveillance and Emergency teams are closely monitoring him," Bosire said.

From April this year, the County Assembly had been operating with a quarter of its regular employees, with only those offering essential services like security, minute clerks, human resource officers and accountants working on rotational leaves.

This is the eighth case of Covid-19 to be confirmed in Nyamira.