By MN Reporter
The amount was requested by the health department, allocated by assembly
Migori county government will spend Sh295million in fresh allocation to help fight Covid-19 after reaching the 10 positive case mark.
Migori health department had requested the amount which was allocated after assembly had re-alignment of budget from other sectors to shore up the amount.
In a special interview, Kaler MCA Thomas Akungo and the chairman of Budgets and Appropriation Committee said the allocation from a special sitting on supplementary budget will help “in mitigating the issue of covid19, will help in equipping ICU wards since we have a building.”
He said Sh113million was raised from adjusting budget from other departments while Sh143.4milion was from government funds “with the rest to be raised from well wishers and donations.”
“The money will also be used in acquiring dressing, non-pharmaceuticals, laboratory equipment and pay travel allowances for medics,” Akungo said.
This come in a week where Jacktone Ochieng’ Nyamori, an architect who succumbed to coronavirus in Mbagathi hospital in Nairobi was buried in a low key ceremony manned by police and public health officials after body arrived on Friday night.
The news on Saturday increased fear of more spread of the virus in the country as most Kenyans in Tanzania and Tanzanians who test positive find it easier to cross into Kenya for free treatment and btter medication which they cant find in their homes.
Kuria area Public Health Officer Asher Okanga said, across the border in Tanzania there is a feeling Kenya is doing better in control, free and available testing in isolation centers which see most crossing the border.
“We are on alert we are working with elders from communities along the border, most people who came in the country recently have been taken into quarantine,” Okanga said.
Governor Okoth Obado has called on government to move with speed and help establish a mass testing center at the Isebania border crossing.
“We need government to immediately help establish the mass testing point in Isebania like the one in Namanga,” Obado said.
Obado has severally led team of Migori and regional security officers along the border with Tanzania and demanding more vigilance to fight the virus.
“We are not putting stigma on Tanzanians who are our brothers, we only demand to fight the Covid-19 virus as Kenya has stepped up fight, while across the border life is normal,” Obado said.
He said the biggest challenge of fighting the virus is traders who insist on trade between the border with disregard to lives of locals.
He said Migori has 25 quarantine centers, and the upsurge of number of those in quarantine has seen Kehancha KMTC and St. Mary’s Mabera Secondary in Kuria region recording full capacity.
“The two centers are already full, I will easily add more to help fight the virus,” Obado said.
Already Kuria leader led by Kitayama and his Kuria West counterpart Mathias Robi have called residents who have relatives across the border, to stop visits completely.
“We love our relatives, but right now our visits should be stopped. We have the big challenge of Tanzania who want to come to Kenya for treatment on fear of the laxity on controlling the virus across the border,” Robi said.
