Bungoma County has kicked off a local production of face masks.
This is in a bid to ensure that the residents get more masks to protect themselves from the novel Covid-19.
The face masks that are set to be distributed across the county are being produced at Wekelekha Vocational Training Centre.
They have been branded “Made in Bungoma”, and are a product of a licence and certification from Rivertex.
According to Bungoma Governor Wycliffe Wangamati, the centre will be making up to 10,000 face masks per week.
In adapting the masks to the community, the masks are reusable after washing and sanitizing, a fact that responds to the challenge of costs associated with the disposable ones.
The products will be given out for free to Boda Bodas, Mama Mboga, Matatu operators as well as County Government employees.
Wekelekha is one of the 10 VTCs being upgraded into Centre of Excellence as part of Governor Wangamati’s push to up-scale the training of technical skills in the County.
In January, the Centre started making County uniforms, including those for nurses, ward admins, Sub County admins and Enforcement Officers.
In what tells of the institution’s potential, the Centre delivered naval white ceremonial uniform for a full parade in a record 24 hours.
Kenya currently has recorded a total of 172 confirmed coronavirus cases.
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe on Tuesday afternoon while confirming the new 14 cases, warned Kenyans of tougher times ahead, as the numbers are expected to grow, should Kenyans fail to adhere to measures put by the government to contain the virus.