•President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday revealed the sorry state of preparedness in counties to fight the coronavirus disease that is spreading fast.
•Three months after the contagion struck, Uhuru said some counties are still struggling to set up quarantine and isolation centres.
Image: FILE
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday described the sorry state of preparedness in a number of counties to fight the fast-spreading coronavirus disease.
Those inadequacies of facilities and tracing, he said, largely informed his decision to extend curfew and other restrictions.
Three months into the fight against the contagion, Uhuru revealed counties are still struggling to set up quarantine and isolation centres.
In view of the shortcomings, President Kenyatta has called an emergency meeting of all governors for next Wednesday to commit to setting up isolation centres with capacities of at least 300 beds. They will also review containment measures.
“Have we met the minimum of a prepared health system with isolation facilities? I will answer that question by giving you two examples,” the President said.
He cited Siaya and Busia counties, saying their isolation beds are already full but only a few cases have been reported.
In Siaya, the county has only 10 isolation beds that already are full after nine patients were admitted from only one incident.
Busia’s 34 isolation beds were filled in two days after a sudden surge in the number of Covid-19 cases following the mass testing of truck drivers at the Kenya-Uganda border.
“If there is a surge in infections in these two counties, the healthcare system will be overwhelmed,” President Kenyatta said.
He added, “The hard question to pose here, therefore, is whether Kenyans are prepared to nurse Covid-19 patients in their homes if our healthcare system cannot handle the numbers.”
Some 125 Covid-19 cases have been confirmed in the Busia county.
Cases have been confirmed in 35 counties, including the highest cases in Nairobi (1,213), Mombasa (720), Kajiado (82) and Kiambu (57).
Other counties are Kwale (32), Kilifi (20), Mandera (18), Wajir (34), Migori (29), Garissa (15), Taita Taveta (15), Nakuru (11) and Machakos (10).
Uhuru said the restrictions he extended on Saturday were based largely on counties’ lack of preparation to handle the rising cases coupled with their inadequate capacity for surveillance and contact tracing.
“According to the professionals, the irreducible minimum for lifting the restrictions has three thresholds. One, to open up, the infections must have been contained and headed downwards. Access to testing, isolation and quarantine must be a bare minimum,” Uhuru said.
In view of the disturbing state of affairs, the President has called a meeting with all governors next Wednesday. He intends to seek an undertaking from each county to deliver isolation facilities with a capacity of at least 300 beds.
The National and County Government Co-coordinating Summit meeting will also review the effectiveness of containment measures so far rolled out to break the chain of transmission of the coronavirus.
The county chiefs will be given 14 days to develop time-bound protocols for progressive re-opening of the economy.
The government has disbursed Sh5 billion to the counties to increase their healthcare capacity.
(Edited by V. Graham)