The Taita-Taveta County government has ordered the immediate closure of major markets in the region as part of public health measures to combat the possible spread of the coronavirus.
Speaking in Voi, Taita-Taveta Deputy Governor Majala Mlagui said the markets in Mwatate, Wundanyi, Voi and Taveta sub-counties are potential hotspots for infection and spread of the virus and hence the decision to close them down.
She, however, said that the small markets and roadside stalls will still be operational.
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“We are doing this as a way of avoiding crowding in public places. We need all your support,” she appealed to the public.
She further disclosed that the drastic step was taken after Tanzania confirmed its first case of a person infected with the Coronavirus, COVID-19.
However, the abrupt closure of the markets triggered a public backlash with traders terming the move as punitive and informed by fear.
While the announcement was being made, hundreds of traders in Taveta wholesale market at the Kenya-Tanzania border were unloading their farm produce in readiness for the market day on Wednesday.
Taveta wholesale market, one of the largest markets in the coast region, is patronized by traders and buyers from Kenya and Tanzania. The market days usually fall on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Mr. Michael Power, an Irish potato dealer, termed the move as uncalled for. He said that the traders were taking their health seriously and had water jars, soaps and sanitizers on their stands. He further accused the county of sowing seeds of unnecessary panic in the public.
“We have been washing hands because we care for our health. We have already told buyers not to crowd around our produce and they have complied. The county is killing our only means of livelihood,” he said.
His sentiments were echoed by Ms. Sarah Wambua, an onion seller, at the market. She said she had received her onion stock from Ethiopia on Monday in readiness for Wednesday market. She added that though traders and the public have been supporting the county preventive measures to combat coronavirus, there was need to temper some decisions with rational actions.
“You cannot close the main market without giving an alternative to the traders. This is tantamount to killing us even as we keep safe from Corona,” she said.
She also said the small markets and stalls that will continue to operate will eventually die because they get their stock from the main markets.
“This might appear like a simple decision but in the end, it will affect everyone,” she said.
The market closure comes even as the county complained that delayed funding from the national government risks derailing efforts to establish proper infrastructure to combat the novel coronavirus in the border county.
Department of health reported that it established two isolation wards in Voi and Taveta sub-counties. Each of the isolation wards has a 10-bed capacity.
Two more units were in the process of being established at Mwatate and Wundanyi sub-counties.
County Executive Member for Health Services John Mwakima said the county was working on convincing the national government on the need for Taita-Taveta County to be classified as a high-risk county due to the proximity to the Tanzania border.
He said the county experienced high traffic movements as thousands of vehicles passed through the region along the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway and also Voi-Taveta-Holili highway.
“We need to be classified as a high-risk county to access government intervention through the ministry of Health,” he said.
The Ministry of Health had last week identified high-risk counties where the Coronavirus could spread. Most of these counties are in the border region. They include Kisumu, Busia, Migori, Kajiado, Wajir and Garissa. Nairobi, Mombasa and Kilifi are also in the Ministry of Health’s watch-list.
In Taita-Taveta County, the national government said it was enforcing directives to keep the public safe. Ms. Kimondo, representing the County Commissioner, said all meetings were banned and the government was using community policing and Nyumba Kumi security initiatives to monitor activities across the county.
As part of enhancing security in security agencies, all police stations and posts are fitted with water tanks, soaps and sanitizers.
County Police Commander Kiprotich said everyone who was seeking services from the police stations had to wash their hands as part of enforcing cleanliness and upholding safety measures. He stated that normal police duties would continue and warned against criminal activities.
“Though courts have suspended some operations, criminals will still be sought and be arrested,” he said.
However, even as the county moves to secure the region from Corona, anxiety amongst the medics runs high with reports saying hospitals lack proper equipment and gear to handle Corona cases should they be reported.
A medic at Moi County Referral Hospital who declined to be named said the facility was most likely to be the first place any suspected Corona case will be referred to before being transferred to an isolation unit.
He stated that the medics who will receive the patient for preliminary tests remain very vulnerable and required proper personal protective equipment to receive patients.
“Should we have a case, the corona patient will be received by a medic at this facility. This means that medics will be exposed because he or she handled a patient without proper gear,” said the medic.
