Government now restricts movement in northeastern
Kinyungu Kithendu
The government has moved in to restrict movement of people along its borders in Northern Kenya in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Kenya shares borders with Ethiopia From Northeastern and Somalia from East.
Also Read:
The three counties of Garissa, Wajir and Mandera both have entry and exit points to Somalia.
Residents from Bula Sufti in Ethiopia and Bula Hawa in Somalia, that is less than 10 kms apart, share a lot in common.
Apart from doing business together and accessing healthcare in Mandera, most of them have relatives on both sides and therefore there is a lot of movement in and out of the areas.
Speaking to the press in his office, Northeastern regional commissioner Nicodemus Ndalana said the regional and county security and intelligence committees were under strict instructions to ensure that only deserving cases such as the sick are allowed into the country.
He, however, said even then they will only be allowed after being subjected to thorough screening and going through all the measures that have been put in place by the government including sanitising and hand washing.
“As was confirmed by the Ministry of Health on Tuesday, the deadly virus is here with us. It is upon us now to ensure we stop its spread.
If we are not careful and fail to listen to government directives then we will have ourselves to blame,” he said.
Ndalana ordered bus operators and motorists to stop using panya routes to access the counties of Nairobi, Kilifi and Mombasa where movement in and out has been stopped for 21 days.
He said the consequences for those arrested doing so would be dire noting that ‘the best thing to do would will to cooperate and follow government directives.
On Tuesday, two siblings from Mandera tested positive for the virus, the first case to be reported in the county and region.
The two arrived in Mandera on April 1 from Nairobi.
