The Taita Taveta county assembly speaker Meshack Maghanga has rubbished claims that the assembly had been temporarily closed after members tested positive for Coronavirus.
Addressing the press in Voi on Thursday, Maghanga said the MCAs were on recess and sittings will resume on Thursday.
He said tests done on the 33 ward reps turned negative and that there was no cause for alarm.
“Tests done at KEMRI in Kilifi County are back. None of the MCAs has been infected. The assembly will continue adhering to the set protocols to combat possible spread of the virus,” the speaker said.
The assembly last week suspended all its activities for two weeks after three staffers tested positive for coronavirus. All MCAs and staffers underwent mandatory testing and were allowed to proceed for a two-week self-quarantine.
Assembly clerk Gadiel Maghanga said the premises would remain shut as all workers proceeded on a 14-day self-quarantine.
He said close contacts had been identified and directed to go for mandatory self-quarantine with immediate effect.
However, the two seemed to be reading from different scripts. The speaker claimed he was not consulted on the decision.
“Such communications can only be made by the speaker. Any other communication from other quarters is deemed misleading. The house is still operational,” the speaker added.
He said the MCAs are set to resume sittings on September 3.
A new wave of coronavirus infections has been reported among top county government officials. Thirteen officials from both arms of government have been confirmed positive.
Governor Granton Samboja in a statement on Tuesday confirmed that the recent wave of Covid-19 cases in the county had impacted both the county executive and the assembly.
In the past two weeks, Samboja said the county had recorded 23 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total to 26, up from only three.
“Sixteen cases are under home-based isolation and care while ten are in the county isolation wards,” Samboja said.
He said his government had since kicked off rapid testing for all county staffers.
“Further to this, all County staff, from both the County Assembly- which has since ceased operations -and the County Executive, who have been listed as primary contacts have since been traced and placed under quarantine and advised to adhere to the health protocols on management of Covid-19,” the governor added.
The county has further embarked on a fumigation exercise of the county headquarters in Mwatate and all the other subcounty offices across the County.