The number of coronavirus cases stood at three yesterday even as the government stepped up efforts to trace all the people who had come into contact with the patients.
Government spokesperson Cyrus Oguna said they were holding 20 people at the Mbagathi District Hospital and Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) for monitoring.There are six patients at KNH – three who are confirmed to have the virus while the other three are suspected to be infected. The remaining 14 are being quarantined at Mbagathi.“The three persons (at KNH) meet the criteria of suspect cases, which includes cough and difficulty in breathing,” said Oguna.
The spokesman revealed that two other people suspected of harbouring the virus had been discharged after their tests came back negative.”We have put measures in place to ensure the situation does not escalate,” he said.Ministry of Health acting Director General Patrick Amoth said the 14 people being held at Mbagathi may have to wait longer as the government seeks to get accurate results of their tests.
“We cannot do it in a hurry and end up with a false negative. We would rather hold you longer for 12 or 14 hours but be able to give results that will stand the test of scrutiny in other laboratories,” said Dr Amoth.If the tests come back negative, the patients will be released to go home with strict instructions to self-quarantine for another 14 days.
Amoth allayed fears over the preparedness of counties, and the risk that testing kits could run out as the pandemic spreads globally.More than 160,000 cases have been reported in over 135 countries, with the number of deaths exceeding 6,500.
Testing kits
The director general assured that by Friday, all counties will have their isolation centres ready as well as the necessary equipment to handle any cases. Currently, only 35 counties are prepared.“As the cases increase we expect to see a demand in testing kits. But, luckily, they are now commercially available so we can procure them,” said Oguna.
A preparedness analysis seen by The Standard shows that 14 counties, among them Marsabit, Makueni and Kitui, are still in the process of equipping their isolation centres.Tana River and Mandera are renovating their facilities, while Kajiado has three functional centres and is in the process of equipping more facilities.There are no staff trained on how to handle patients in West Pokot while in Laikipia, only aprons were available as personal protective equipment (PPE).
Migori and Samburu have no budgets to combat the virus, and have sought support from the Ministry of Health.At an earlier press briefing, Council of Governors chair Wycliffe Oparanya said counties are expected to set aside at least two per cent of their budgets for emergencies.
If the counties find they have no money to tackle the virus, they are allowed by law to request the National Treasury for a supplementary budget, or transfer cash from other dockets to health.Kiambu and Turkana also need more PPE while Kirinyaga does not have trained staff or enough beds to equip the isolation wards.Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said on Sunday that some counties had also established isolation centres in Level 3 hospitals. Level 4 and 5 hospitals are specifically required to have the special wards.“There is nothing we are leaving to chance.
We have issued counties with PPE and received wish lists on how they would like to be supported,” the CS said.But the preparedness gaps are worrying doctors, clinicians and nurses who have faulted the government for laxity. On Monday, nurses at Mbagathi, which has a 120-bed isolation ward, staged a go-slow demanding to be issued with PPE.“It is not that we do not want to work, but we need the right gear for that. People cannot just make boardroom declarations but there is nothing happening on the ground,” said Kenya National Union of Nurses Nairobi chair Boaz Onchari.
Onchari said nurses are at high risk of not only getting infected, but also infecting other patients during their normal rounds in the wards.
