- County Universal Health Coverage director says the patient is an agent who works with a local bank and collects money from a hospital in the county.
- He said the patient is under treatment as contact tracing continues.
Busia has denied claims by a health unionist that a Covid-19 positive patient who was picked at Khunyangu in Butula subcounty last week was a nurse.
County Universal Health Coverage director Dr David Mukabi told the Star Thursday that the said patient works as an agent with a local bank.
Mukabi said no health worker has tested positive for the virust in Busia sincethe forst case was reported in teh country in March.
“We have no nurse who tested Covid-19 positive at Khunyangu,” Mukabi said on the phone.
“It was actually a local bank agent who helps the hospital to collect money. That was last week. We moved in and we have been supporting them as contact tracing continues,”
Mukabi spoke a day after Busia Kenya National Union of Nurses secretary general Isaiah Omondi faulted the county for failing to establish a Covid-19 isolation and treatment centre, despite one health staff from Khunyangu in Butula testing positive for the virus.
He said although it is mandatory for the county to establish a special centre where health workers who will test positive will be admitted, no such facility had been put up.
“We had one staff test positive in Khunyangu. The staff was taken to Alupe without setting aside a special unit for sick staff,” Omondi said.
“Setting up a special facility for the sick staff is mandatory. But you know a sleeping government will not do anything. They are very good at public relations but on the ground, they are nowhere,” he claimed.
Last month, Health and Sanitation chief officer Isaac Omeri said there are plans to establish more Covid-19 isolation and treatment centres in the county.The new Covid-19 facilities, Omeri said, will accommodate 124 beds.
They will be established at Kocholya Level 4 Hospital, Nambale subcounty, Sio-Port and Khunyangu. These four will have 30 beds each, while the one in Port Victoria Hospital will be fitted with 24 beds.
“Currently, we are focusing mostly on Alupe and Agricultural Training Centre. We have discussed possibilities of expanding our bed capacity to 402,” Omeri said.
Busia had recorded 815 coronavirus positive cases by Thursday.