Rasanga bans ferrying of Covid-19 victims’ bodies to the County

Siaya Governor Cornel Rasanga has banned ferrying of bodies of victims of Covid-19 for burial within the county.

Mr Rasanga wants the dead to instead be buried where they succumb.

The Governor argued that this was the only way to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the county.

The governor also directed his officers to ensure that everyone visiting the county is screened before being allowed to pass its borders.

Rasanga sought the arrest of the assistant chief who gave 15 mourners a permit to bury in Ugenya, Siaya last Saturday the body of a woman who died of Covid-19 at Kenyatta National Hospital despite the ceremony being held under tight security.

"I spoke with Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe about the assistant chief. He must be held accountable together with the police officers manning roadblocks from Nairobi to Siaya on the day these people travelled," said Rasanga.

Out of the 15 mourners, the county can only account for 12, who are currently being held in isolation and quarantine. The whereabouts of three others is not known.

Seven of the 12 mourners tested positive for Covid-19 while five are in quarantine at KMTC in Siaya, awaiting repeat tests. Tracing of relatives who came in contact with the 12 mourners is going on.

Rasanga issued an order to those intending to travel from Nairobi to Siaya to seek clearance from the County Commissioner.

The governor added that the county was well prepared to handle the virus and confirmed that the isolation unit in Bondo Sub-county hospital was ready with a bed capacity of 16.

He said health workers handling the Covid-19 patients worked in shifts and were not allowed to return home but stay at a hotel and after 14 days are tested for the virus.

"We learnt from the first case in Bondo. Health personnel work in shifts of four hours and do not go home to their families... That hotel does not host anyone else apart from them, and after 14 days they are tested before they join their families" he said.

Rasanga confirmed that there were adequate protective gears for the front-line workers and especially those at the isolation centres.