Joho reveals number of coronavirus-positive KPA workers, urges Uhuru to lock down city over ‘very worrying’ figures

Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho says at least 23 out of 300 Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) workers in the coastal city have contracted coronavirus.

“The coronavirus test results we have gotten from mass examination at KPA are very worrying,” he said while launching a 300-bed capacity COVID-19 facility and four ICU ambulances at Technical University of Mombasa (TUM) on Thursday, April 23.

“Twenty three (23) people testing positive for coronavirus out of the 300 KPA employees tested, is not a joke; that is almost 10 per cent of the staff population,” said the county chief.

Joho urged President Uhuru Kenyatta to totally lock down Mombasa to avert possibility of a coronavirus explosion in the coastal city “within the next few weeks”.

Currently, movement into and out of Mombasa is prohibited, as per President Kenyatta's directive which took effect on April 8 at 7pm.

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

While announcing new infections in the country at Afya House on Thursday, April 23, Health CAS Dr. Mercy Mwangangi said out of Kenya’s 17 new cases of COVID-19, 12 came from Mombasa.

Kenya, as of April 23, had registered 320 COVID-19 cases, out of which there were 14 deaths and 89 recoveries.