AfricaPress-Kenya: Kenya only has 518 critical care beds to cater for patients.This is as the country fights the Covid-19 pandemic that has so far claimed the life of one person, a 66-year-old who died at the Aga Khan Intensive Care Unit.
He was suffering from diabetes.Of the 518, 439 beds are occupied in certain hospitals across the country. The number is despite the 978 cases of close contacts being monitored by the Ministry of Health.
Nairobi County has the highest number of ICU beds at 247.Hospitals within Nairobi county with the highest bed number include: Nairobi West hospital- 17, Kenyatta University Hospital-44, Nairobi Hospital- 16 and Aga Khan Hospital- 11 ICU beds respectively.Moi Teaching Referral Hospital has 20 beds while the Coast General Teaching Referral hospital in Mombasa County has 12 beds.
However, there are counties with no single critical care beds. These include; Kitui, Nyandarua, Laikipia, Turkana, Elgeyo Marakwet, Marsabit and Migori counties. Below is the list of hospital beds per county.
| COUNTY | NUMBER OF BEDS |
| Kwale | 6 |
| Mombasa | 36 |
| Garissa | 6 |
| Meru- | 6 |
| Embu- | 5 |
| Machakos- | 5 |
| Makueni- | 4 |
| Nyeri- | 14 |
| Kirinyaga- | 4 |
| Murang’a- | 4 |
| Kiambu- | 19 |
| Uasin Gishu- | 55 |
| Nakuru- | 19 |
| Narok- | 6 |
| Kericho- | 5 |
| Kakamega- | 9 |
| Bungoma- | 23 |
| Kisumu- | 21 |
| Kisii- | 9 |
Kenyan has put in place containment measures to curb the spread.This is as the number of coronavirus cases continues to surge and it’s evident it could cripple the healthcare system.
In the latest announcement on the status of the pandemic Saturday afternoon, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe said, “Currently, Health Ministry is monitoring 978 close contacts. Three individuals are admitted at Mbagathi Hospital awaiting test results and 833 have been tested so far.”The country now has 38 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.
Tracing of close contacts is ongoing as government says the number of those who have been monitored stands at 1141.Out of this, 163 have since been discharged after completing the mandatory 14-day quarantine period.
Nairobi County is leading with confirmed cases at 28.Kilifi County has six, Mombasa two, while Kajiado and Kwale counties have one each.21 of these are male cases while 16 are female.
