Mercy Auma
Kakamega County has banned the transfer of bodies to morgues in other counties amid a surge of covid-19 cases in the country.
Speaking yesterday, Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya reiterated President Uhuru Kenyatta’s directive that bodies should be buried within 72 hours of death.
Oparanya further warned that private facilities that allow dead bodies to be moved to other counties longer than 72 hours will have their licenses revoked.
“The 72-hour directive given by the President must be followed. We are not going to allow any bodies in our mortuary at Kakamega County General Hospital or any private mortuary,” Oparanya said.
Read: Here Are The Covid-19 Containment Measures For Five Counties Put On Partial Lockdown
He further added, “We have also banned the movement of dead bodies from our county to other counties because what has been happening is that when we enforce the directive to ensure burials are conducted within 72 hours, people transfer them to another county so that they take more time to plan for the burial.”
In the State of the Nation address last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta issued containment measures to avert a crisis in the country as a result of increased covid-19 cases.
The Head of State named Kiambu, Nairobi, Machakos, Kajiado and Nakuru as the highly contagious counties, hence disease infected zones. These counties were placed under partial lockdown until further notice.
Read Also: Pastor Blames Uhuru, Politicians For Current Surge In Covid-19 Cases (Video)
Bars in the five counties were also closed for an unspecified period of time. The sale of alcohol in restaurants and eateries was also prohibited.
These measures were occasioned by the surge in positive cases of Coronavirus in the last three weeks.
“In less than 12 days, our admission in hospitals has increased by 52%. The positivity rate is the highest since the pandemic began and the stress on our health care is unparalleled,” he said.
Email your news TIPS to news@kahawatungu.com or WhatsApp +254708677607. You can also find us on Telegram through www.t.me/kahawatungu
