Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi has appealed to local manufacturers making PPEs to consider hot regions.
Kingi suggested that PPEs to be used in the Coast and Northeastern regions should be made lighter due to the high temperatures in these regions.
Speaking on Saturday when he received PPEs from the Equity Bank Foundation Covid-19 Fund, Kingi said doctors are subjected to a lot of suffering while in their line of duty due to the heavy PPEs.
Kingi said he has received numerous complaints from medical staff over the extreme heat.
“Most of the times doctors put on these PPEs for quite a long time. If they are not comfortable in them then even their concentration is compromised. A PPE to be used in Kilifi should not be the same with a PPE to be used in Nairobi because Nairobi is cold while Kilifi is hot,” Kingi said.
At the same time, Kingi expressed concerns over the disregarding of the Covid-19 containment measures in the county.
Kingi said after President Uhuru Kenyatta relaxed the cessation of movement in and out of Nairobi and Mombasa on July 6, many residents of Kilifi reverted to their normal way of life.
“It is very said that people are back to their normal life. The President did not say people should go back to their normal way of life. On Thursday, we recorded the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the county where six members of one family tested positive. Let’s adhere to the guidelines to stay safe,” he said.
Equity Bank Foundation associate director Joseph Ndung'u said they have received PPEs worth Sh237 million and they are looking at manufacturing more worth Sh400million.
The PPEs include gumboots, head covers, foot covers, surgical masks and gloves and will be taken to Kilifi Level 4 Hospital, Ndung'u said.
He said the PPEs will go to 68 hospitals identified by the Ministry of Health and Covid-19 Funds.
Edited by R.Wamochie
