Covid variants overstretching county health facilities - CoG

The Council of Governors has raised the alarm, saying coronavirus variants have increased pressure on county facilities.

In a press statement on Wednesday on county governments' response to the Covid pandemic, CoG chairperson Governor Martin Wambora said the emerging variants such as delta are becoming more transmissible and violent.

“These variants have contributed significantly to the surge of infection rates noted in Western Kenya,” Wambora said.

He however noted that Nairobi, Mombasa, Kiambu, Nakuru, Nyeri, and Kilifi have overtaken the Western region in terms of positive cases.

However, Wambora said testing capacity in counties has been boosted with an additional 17 PCR machines that were distributed in May.

The council has appealed to the Ministry of Health to go a step further by providing counties with the much-needed testing reagents, and rapid testing kits.

Wambora said mental health illnesses have increased due to stress and anxiety which are associated with the impact of the virus.

“One of the most prominent manifestations is the rise of suicide cases. This has increased from 317 cases recorded annually in the past years to 417 recorded this year.”

He added that county governments have stepped up required measures to avert the trend.

The chairperson said that there is a total of 7,556 beds in isolation facilities, and 1,287 beds are occupied.

There are 512 Intensive Care Unit beds in 31 counties, out of which 192 are occupied. Also, there are 284 HDU beds in the facilities, of which 162 are occupied.

Wambora has further said that the number of patients who require critical care has increased, and the demand for oxygen is high.

He added that county governments are scaling up the process to avail medical oxygen, more so at the level 4, and level 5 hospitals.

Edited by CM