Covid protocols to be strictly observed during Madaraka fete

There will be strict observance and monitoring of Covid-19 regulations during this year’s Madaraka Day celebrations in Kisumu, with only invited guests allowed into the venue.

Nyanza Regional Commissioner Muga Mutindika said on Wednesday that security officers will be tasked with ensuring adherence to the Covid-19 protocols at Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium in Mamboleo where the celebrations will take place. Admission to the 35,000-capacity stadium will be restricted to 3,000 invited guests.

Plans to screen the events at three other venues have now been shelved in view of the Covid-19 situation. Only one screen will be mounted outside the stadium.

Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong'o told residents to observe the Covid-19 regulations and added that aggressive contact tracing and enforcement of containment measures is happening at all levels.

Kisumu and other counties in the Nyanza region have been recording higher numbers of Covid-19 infections lately. Twice this month, Kisumu has recorded the highest number of infections in the country.

The county’s Health executive, Prof Boaz Nyunya, noted that non-adherence to Covid-19 guidelines, lifting of the lockdown in Nairobi and the counties around it as well as reopening of schools, have contributed to the surge of cases in Kisumu.

Governor Nyong’o stated that the county’s Covid-19 multi-agency committee had in the past issued strict measures, which had been ignored.

“But our people have refused to obey these protocols. They are still boarding over-loaded matatus, these our friends and relatives still cram bars and continue to wear masks on their chins instead of their faces to cover their mouths and noses,” he lamented. He added that the county has had continuous controlled mass testing among the Indian community and there’s a planned roll out of mass testing sites in all sub-counties.

In Homa Bay, the county Covid-19 emergency response committee has ordered security officers to crack down on individuals and businesses that breach control guidelines. Over the last one week, a total of 479 people accused of breaching the guidelines have been arrested, charged and fined.

Reporting by Elizabeth Ojina, George Odiwuor and Vitalis Kimutai