Inside isolation ward at Mbagathi hospital

The setting up of an isolation ward for coronavirus patients at Mbagathi County Hospital has begun. 

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday ordered that the isolation ward be completed in seven days.

Nairobi Health Executive Hitan Majevdia said the ward will hold about 40 beds.

The secluded building was initially meant to be a 120-bed maternity wing.

Majevdia said machines had already been brought into the wing awaiting the official opening. “We shall assemble all the machines and safely keep up as we prepare as instructed by the President,” he said on Friday.

Mbagathi chairman George Osewe said, “As ordered by the County Executive for Health, we shall commence cleaning and preparing the beds."

The two agreed that a perimeter fence should be erected to separate the building from the rest of the hospital.

“For precaution, the fence will help the hospital staff and other patients from coming into contact with people from the building,” Majvedia said.

Osewe said staff and patients will be informed to be cautious.

“It is a weighty issue and we have to take necessary steps to ensure everyone is aware of what will be happening within the premises,” he said.

The machines will be placed in one common area to create room for patients.

Health Chief Administrative Secretary Rashid Aman had said they would need a month to prepare the isolation section.

Uhuru gave them seven days.  He also said the identification and preparation of isolation and treatment facilities in Level V and referral hospitals across the country should be concluded by March 15.

World Health Organization director-general Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus on Thursday urged countries to take action against the virus. He said it is still possible to stop its rapid spread.

Although no Kenyan has tested positive for COVID-19, globally, 83,713 people in about 40 countries have been infected and 2,858 have died.

The virus emerged in Wuhan, China, in December. The vast majority of cases remain in China, but it has spread to all parts of the world.

Edited by Josephine M. Mayuya