Mombasa County assembly has suspended it's sittings indefinitely following the outbreak of corona virus in the country.

The motion to suspend the sittings was presented at the assembly today (Tuesday) morning by the leader of majority Hamisi Mwidani.

The assembly will now be operating through special committee sittings when need arises. 

Among issues pending at the assembly is the adoption of names for new members of the public service board which were forwarded to the assembly by Governor Hassan Joho. The individuals were vetted by the assembly last Thursday.

Other county assemblies that have also suspended their sittings are Nairobi and Nandi counties.

Parliament is also expected to suspend sittings of the National assembly and Senate.

Meanwhile Governor Hassan Joho has called on residents of Mombasa county not to panic saying the corona virus is not a death sentence.

“Coronavirus is not death. Don’t panic thinking once you contract it you will die, no. In fact, there are a lot more cases where people have recovered,” Joho said.

Joho said a total of 24 personnel have been trained to deal with patients if the virus spreads to Mombasa. He also noted that the the county is considering a supplementary budget to respond to demands.

He was speaking after visiting the 19-bed coronavirus isolation centre at the Coast General Hospital.