Machakos County Speaker Florence Mwangangi presiding over a past county assembly session. She is the mother of Health CAS Dr Mercy Mwangangi. [File, Standard]

Machakos County Assembly Speaker Florence Mwangangi is in her 10th day of self-quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19 about nine days ago.

Ms Mwangangi, who is also the mother of Health Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS), Dr Mercy Mwangangi, went public about her Covid-19 status Saturday night. 

“What I can say is that I tested positive for Coronavirus nine days ago and I immediately went on home quarantine where I have been receiving treatment. I want to tell Kenyans that the disease is real and causes severe body weakness. I have lost my senses of smell and taste and I’m also experiencing severe headache,” Mwangangi said in a telephone interview.

Mwangangi also revealed she has been experiencing acute body weakness and fever, dizziness and loss of appetite.

She said although she had been practising the laid down guidelines spelt out by the Ministry of Health to combat the disease to the latter, she was shocked to discover that the virus had caught up with her.

What prompted me to take the test was after I noticed some colleagues whom I work with exhibited signs of Covid-19.

 “True to our fears, two of us tested positive and we have since taken the requisite measures to self-quarantine so that we do not risk infecting others,” she said.

She revealed her driver has also tested positive for Covid-19 and has similarly been put on treatment and self-quarantine.

She noted that Covid-19 was now prevalent in most parts of the country and urged those who have not been infected to continue observing safety measures to prevent further spread of the disease.

“As it stands now, the disease can affect anybody and I urge people not to shy away from declaring their status in case they test positive for Covid-19,” she said.

On Sunday, Machakos County Assembly public relations manager, Cynthia Watuka said the Assembly leadership was monitoring the situation closely in order to determine the next course of action.

“Members are already on recess but we wait to see the next course of action,” Ms Watuka told Standard Digital.