• Nairobi on lead with Covid-19 cases since first was recorded.
• Top county hospitals also equipped to identify Covid-19 cases and isolate.
The Nairobi Metropolitan Service has dedicated Ngara Heath Centre and South B Clinic for coronavirus testing of truck drivers and all hotel workers within the county.
This comes as NMS steps up in its role in the Multi-Agency Response Team on Covid-19 Management and Containment Programmes.
As of May 22, Kenya had recorded 1,161 Covid-19 cases - Nairobi leading with 560 followed by Mombasa with 388, Mandera (18), Kwale (17) and Kilifi (11).
Eastleigh Estate is already under partial lockdown until June 6 while Kibera is proving to be another hotspot after recording the highest number of new cases this week.
NMS Director-General Mohamed Badi has assured Nairobians that despite the county recording the highest number of cases, his office will ensure that containment measures against Coivd-19 are upheld.
“Nairobi City county has recorded the highest number of infections from the statistics of the Ministry of Health but I wish to assure Kenyans - Nairobians in particular - that NMS being part of multi-agency,” he said.
Badi was speaking at Upper Hill during a mask receiving ceremony on Thursday.
“I am very pleased and honoured to receive these face masks, which will go a long way in helping NMS play its role in the management and containment of Covid-19,” he said.
Giving highlights of the efforts made by the NMS on Covid-19, Badi said that after mapping out all communities in the capital, 2,400 handwashing stations have been stationed, complete with liquid soap and sanitiser.
On April 28, the Ministry of Health handed over 58 quarantine facilities to NMS and 55 county health workers dedicated there.
Also, health workers have been deployed at all the border points within Nairobi.
The Badi-led team on April 30 launched a community household registration exercise to map all households that need maternity care, child care, emergency medical treatment and that have chronic diseases.
“As a result, in partnership with Shofco, we are giving free Uber/Bolt rides to pregnant women during this Covid-19 period,” Badi said.
The hospitals have a triage (separate area) to isolate potential Covid-19 patients for testing and referral. It is only Mbagathi with an isolation and treatment centre.
“We continue to receive and quarantine the second wave of returnees. And we will seek partnerships to ensure those who are sick continue to receive services,” Badi said.
The director-general also stated that NMS was assisting in conducting contact tracing for all persons in connected to Covid-19 positive people.
In partnership with the Ministry of Health, NMS is conducting a Covid-19 free mass testing which kicked off on Wednesday and will go on till May 31.
The testing is said to target communities located in the 17 subcounties; Dagoretti, Embakasi East and West, Starehe, Westlands, Kibra, Langa’ta, Kasarani. Roysambu, Ruaraka, Mathare, Westlands, Kamukunji and Makadara.
On Saturday, mass testing was in Embakasi West where people from Umoja Estate were urged to show up in numbers for the exercise.
Badi also assured Nairobians that the NMS is already delivering in the four core functions that were handed over to them.
It was established on March 18 by President Uhuru Kenyatta following the transfer of four core functions from the county to the state.
The functions include Health Services, Transport; Public Works, Utilities & Ancillary Services; and County Government Planning and Development.
“I assure the residents of Nairobi that we are already delivering this mandate and will continue to improve on service delivery in the above four areas,” Badi said.
Edited by R.Wamochie