Marsabit slaps travel ban to and from Mandera

 

Marsabit County has announced a 21-day closure of its border points with neighbouring Wajir County to block visitors from Mandera.

Announcing the closure, governor Mohamud Ali said it followed Tuesday's confirmation of two Coronavirus cases in Mandera County by the Ministry of Health.

Although so far no coronavirus case has been reported in Wajir, the county is a transit point for travellers to and from Mandera county.

"This is why we have now made the decision to close all the designated border points between Marsabit and Mandera with immediate effect," said governor Ali.

The closed border entries at Watiti, Basir, Dabel, Badan Arero and Bosnia route will remain closed for 21 days.

Marsabit does not share a common border with Mandera. But to reach both sides, residents of both counties counties must cross Wajir.

During the border closure period, visitors from Wajir will also be barred from entering Marsabit.

The governor announced that a team drawn from the county enforcement officials and the National Police Service will guard the border points to ensure that no one crosses it for 21 days.

During this period, there will be no movement to and from Mandera County by road or on foot.

The governor said security agencies have been directed to enforce the directive and ensure 24-hour surveillance on corridors of the border. 

He said confirmed coronavirus cases in Mandera had caused concern in Wajir based on both counties close links and the region's porous boundaries.

"We will continue to review our progress and protocols for the containment of coronavirus and we will update residents as frequently as we can," he said.

He called on residents to support government and county directives to prevent the spread of the virus.

In the meantime, the government has announced that it will restrict movements of people in at all border points in the expansive Northeastern region.

This, not only to limit the spread of coronavirus, but to ensure that terrorism cells do not take advantage of the ongoing curfew to flourish.