• 20 counties reported being overstretched, especially in the past month. Covid patients fewer but sicker, overwhelmingly unvaccinated
• Kenya battling fourth wave fuelled by the highly infectious Delta variant that now dominates in the country.
Image: MAGDALINE SAYA
Counties have been urged to closely monitor stocks of medical oxygen and immediately release empty cylinders for facilities in greater need.
The Council of Governors on Thursday said though numbers of Covid-19 cases are declining, the demand for oxygen is still high for patients in critical condition.
CoG chairman Martin Wambora, the governor of Embu, said 20 counties have reported being overstretched, especially during in the last one month.
They expressed concerns during the peak of the fourth Covid wave in August. The highly infectious Delta variant is dominant and most patients requiring hospitalisation have not been vaccinated. Many require oxygen.
Patients infected with the variant are younger than before and get sicker than those infected with the earlier dominant strain.
“In the last one month, we noted a decline in Covid-19 cases across the country. That does not mean we are out of the woods," Wambora said.
“This should encourage us to continue adhering to the health guidelines to reduce the positivity rate," he said. WHO says it should be less than five per cent.
Wambora said 1,297 Covid patients are hospitalised countrywide.
Kenya has 570 ICU beds, including 87 occupied. It has 383 high dependency unit beds with 65 occupied.
It has 9,817 isolation facilities; 1,145 beds are occupied, representing 12 per cent of the total.
Wambora said counties have identified target populations and described their needs in specific plans. They are training more health workers and accelerating the vaccination process, he said.
Advocacy and outreach have been increased so more people get the vaccine.
“The uptake has varied across counties and there have been delays," the governor said.
He called on asymptomatic patients to continue working with community health volunteers to implement home-based care guidelines.
On Tuesday, 4,438 patients were under home-based isolation countrywide.
Wambura urged the Health ministry to subsidise the cost of Covid-19 medical supplies, such as PPEs, digital thermal guns and hand santiser to reflect market prices.
"We appeal to Kemsa not to withhold these critical supplies on the basis of outstanding debts and allow county governments time to clear pending bills,” he added.
Concerning drought, the CoG chairman said it is threatening lives, especially in the 10 counties of Isiolo, Garissa, Kilifi, Kitui, Mandera, Marsabit, Samburu, Tana River, Turkana and Wajir.
More than two million Kenyans require immediate food, water and other assistance.
On September 8, President Uhuru Kenyatta declared drought a national disaster and allocated Sh1.24 billion for emergency operations.
(Edited by V. Graham)