Joho Asks Uhuru to Put Mombasa Under Total Lockdown as Covid-19 Cases Surge

Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho has asked President Kenyatta to put the county under total lockdown to avert further spread of Covid-19.

Speaking on Thursday, Governor Joho termed the Covid-19 situation in Mombasa as worrying, adding that things could get out of hand in the next few weeks if more stringent measures are not taken.

He disclosed that 23 out of 300 Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) workers at the Mombasa port have contracted coronavirus.

“The coronavirus test results we have gotten from mass examination at KPA are very worrying,” said Joho.

“23 people testing positive for coronavirus out of the 300 KPA employees tested, is not a joke; that is almost 10 percent of the staff population.” 

Joho who spoke while launching a 300-bed capacity Covid-19 treatment facility and four ICU ambulances at Technical University of Mombasa (TUM), urged Uhuru to totally lock down the coastal city.

“These people (KPA employees) live among us. They interact with us in our villages, hence increasing chances of spreading the disease,” he said.

On April 8th, Uhuru issued an order banning the movement of people into and out of Mombasa, which is among areas mapped out as Covid-19 hotspots. Other areas are Nairobi metropolis, Kilifi, Kwale, and Mandera counties.

Out of the 17 new cases coronavirus confirmed in Kenya on Thursday, 12 were recorded in Mombasa and five in Nairobi.

As of April 23rd, the country had registered 320 Covid-19 infections, 14 deaths, and 89 recoveries.