Govt to introduce Mobile App in support of contact tracing

The government says it is introducing a mobile App from Saturday to enable passengers fill in their details which will assist the Ministry of Health in tracing should it be necessary, to avoid crowding at the airport.

Explaining about the App, Dr. Koki Mutua, Director for Public Health said the air travelers will be provided with a link from their airlines or from their booking agents for surveillance form which they will be required to fill and once submitted, they will receive a QR code.

The air travelers will then proceed to the health desk, be screened and fill details like temperature then be released if to be released. The person will be prompted to give daily readings for their temperature for 14 days in the App.

“If you fail to submit the daily readings, you will be traced by our contact tracing team.” She said

Speaking during COVID-19 daily briefing, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said travel guidelines will be subject to constant changes as different countries experience changing COVID-19 circumstances.

He noted that the travel guidelines are not unique to Kenya and that passengers should in the short term expect inconveniences.

“Categorization of what passengers will be subjected to is based on a risk assessment of the COVID-19 situation in the various countries people arrive from or travel to and guidelines will from time to time be given in communiqués from the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing, Urban Development and Public Works.” Said the CS

He noted that since the first case was confirmed in the country, contact tracing has been a tool that the ministry has effectively employed in curbing the spread and that Kenya is one of more than  50 countries globally that have implemented applications to trace the contacts of people who may be infected by a confirmed COVID-19 patient.

“It is becoming clear that while we value contact tracing, many of us do not fully comprehend how it works and its limitations. Contact tracing, as is being experience globally, is most effective when a country or region is experiencing a slow rate of transmission and when, relevantly, the virus is contained.” Said Kagwe

‘In the initial stages, when our nationwide infections were low, contact tracing was achievable. Indeed, it is how we were able to contain the spread in areas such as Mandera where we traced the first COVID-19 positive case from Mombasa. But our circumstances are changing and with the virus aggressively spreading in some regions faster than others, the challenge is increasingly growing at the county levels.” He added

At the same time, Kagwe says MoH has developed protocols in conformity with WHO guidelines and shared these with all the County governments to inform service delivery.

The CS said the ministry has trained officials from most of the counties on what to do and how to do it.

He urged Kenyans not to panic about testing and contacts tracing saying health officials are constantly reviewing the protocols with the citizens’ health in mind.

The CS noted that the ministry has consistently been pushing the county governments to elevate their levels of preparedness for COVID-19, because the management of COVID-19 pandemic is not just about treating the symptomatic.

“It is three-pronged: testing persons suspected to have it, tracing those they come into contact with when feasible and, isolating these individuals so that they don’t spread it to others,” said CS Kagwe.

Adding that: “When a pandemic reaches the leel of community infection as is looking in the case of Nairobi County, health officials shift to management of symptomatic cases with the aim of reducing mortality.”

He explained that this is why the measures outlined are so critical to all reminding Kenyans to, “wear masks, wash hands and when you are not able to wash hands, sanitize with alcohol based sanitizers but above all, keep you distance and avoid gatherings.”