Alarm as 38 students at Marafa Secondary School in Kilifi test positive for COVID-19

Kilifi county is on high alert after 38 students from Marafa Secondary School tested positive for the novel coronavirus in a single day.

The county has been among several counties in Kenya that have borne the brunt of the fast-spreading virus that continues to wreak havoc on the health and economic sectors.

The county Governor Amason Kingi said the rate of infections had reached alarming rates and was now  creeping into the recently re-opened schools.

“We have started getting so many cases, especially in schools, Marafa Secondary School is one case where 38 cases were tested in a day,” Governor Kingi said.

Governor Kingi urged locals to adhere to the guidelines and protocols by the Ministry of Health, warning that slacking on these would create untold chaos across the county.

“This is a call to all of us to follow these rules and guidelines so that we can defeat the virus, if we don’t, it is not just this school but the entire county that will be in trouble,” Governor Kingi warned.

The students who got infected have been placed under isolation at the school with the county government saying it will provide their food and medication for the quarantine period.

At the same time, Governor Kingi warned that stricter measures-such as a total lockdown of the county- are likely if the cases continue to spread at that rate.

“We are not got allowing these cases to spread the way it is happening, if people do not follow these rules, we will be forced to impose a cessation of movement to protect our citizens,” Governor Kingi added.