Corona virus has become a menace worldwide and Vihiga county has not been left behind in the strive for the prevention of the deadly virus.

Vihiga Governor, Dr. Wilber Ottichilo today held a boardroom meeting with the county’s health officials alongside his Deputy Governor, Dr. Patrick Saisi, the County Commissioner and Vihiga Police commander to discuss and deliberate on the preventive measures that are to be undertaken by the County Government.

The Governor later made an impromptu visit to Vihiga referral hospital where he inspected the building that is set aside as an isolation unit for the corona virus patients.

Already the hospital has received some equipment from the ministry of health that will help in the prevention of the corona virus.

46 counties across the nation are set to visit Vihiga County for a conference to specifically benchmark on matters of Geospatial Technologies Services (GTS). This comes after Governor Wilber Ottichilo this morning hosted a delegation of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) officials led by newly appointed FAO Representative Dr. Tobias Takavarsha.

"We have continuously had a good working relationship with FAO through a lot of innovative work especially using the partnership we have. It is my wish that we fast track plans for the proposed conference of the 46 counties through proper mobilization by involving key stakeholders such as my colleague Governors, who have always been willing to adopt the system, their Deputies and County Executive Committee Members (CECMs) of relevant departments such as the Urban Development, Lands and Physical Planning”, said Governor Ottichilo.

On the other hand, Dr. Tobias Takavarsha applauded Vihiga County for adopting the concept of GTS platform and applying it in implementation of County projects thus ensuring effective service delivery. "This is a significant day where we have had quite a consultative forum with your Governor, this being my 3rd county to visit since I got into office. The trans-formative step taken by Vihiga County in championing adoption of GTS to plan and implement projects is impressive. Often, many planning efforts have failed due to insufficient information, but with the well informed demonstration I have just witnessed at the GTS laboratory, Vihiga is set to achieve a lot, “said Dr Takavarsha.

FAO has played a significant role in establishment of the Vihiga GTS laboratory by aiding in its equipping process to an excess of sh.20million. Council of Governors representative, Emily Sawe who accompanied the delegation acknowledged that according to the Council's records, Vihiga has the best laboratory nationwide and it is the best to be used for benchmarking.