GOVERNORS LAUD MOVE TO INCREASE COVID-19 TESTING CENTRES.

The Council of Governors (CoG) has lauded the efforts by the National Government to increase testing centers for Covid-19. The council chairman and Kakamega Governor H.E. FCPA Wycliffe Ambetsa Oparanya said testing centers have been increased from five to ten.

In a statement delivered by Governor Oparanya at Moi Teaching & Referral Hospital, Eldoret Wednesday, the CoG highlighted the following;

▪Inspection of other laboratories is being conducted for accreditation with hopes that Mombasa and Machakos County Referral Hospitals will be added to the list of accredited testing centers.

▪County governments to take advantage of the three month waiver and procure Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs).

▪Local SMEs have since increased their production from 300,000 pieces of surgical face masks a day to 510,000 pieces.

▪County governments have set up a fund in which every county will contribute Sh 200,000 to support counties that are experiencing floods and landslides.

▪CoG has also extended its appreciation to World Food Programme (WFP) for providing technical support to the council to assist with recovery strategy in Agriculture and Food Security.

▪Counties have received Sh 3.3 billion from Danida to cater for operations and maintenance of level one, two and three facilities during this time of Covid-19.

▪Violation of the curfew has led to people be put in forced quarantine which has strained the County budget as counties are compelled to provide food for those quarantined.

▪Escape from quarantine facilities by some individuals pose a risk of spreading the virus to other Kenyans.

Also present were host governor Jackson Mandago, Nandi governor Stephen Sang’, Trans Nzoia county governor Patrick Khaemba, Josephat Nanok the governor of Turkana and Alex Tolgos of Elgeyo Marakwet among other senior government officers from both levels of government.