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Covid cases stretch health system, deaths rise

The government has admitted that the heath care system is stretched by the coronavirus pandemic as it reported 14 deaths, the highest number of fatalities in a day.

This now raises the number of Covid-related fatalities to 299, with Ministry of Health officials alluding to a possible shortage of critical care services.

Of the 14, four did not have any underlying condition as revealed by Health Director General Dr Patrick Amoth while the rest had underlying conditions ranging from cancer, hypertension, diabetes and end stage renal disease.

“It behooves us to consult our doctors to ensure optimum care so that you do not get a severe form of the disease. I am sure if you have controlled diabetes or blood pressure your outcome will be better,” Amoth said.

Coincidentally, the number of deaths has not only been increasing with the number of cases, but there are claims of shortage of ICU beds.

To tackle this, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said a 500-bed capacity facility will be opened in two weeks at the Kenyatta University Hospital to accommodate the rising cases.

The facility will accommodate 60 intensive care units (ICU) beds. It is the largest and most advanced referral hospital in the country. It recently got a boost of 20 specialists from Cuba who are experts in renal, cardiology and internal medicine through the Henry Reeve Medical Brigade.

While giving the daily briefing at Afya House yesterday, Kagwe announced 606 new cases, warning that health facilities in Kenya are stretched.

Kagwe said since Nairobi County is leading with majority of the cases, there’s a possibility that some patients could be transferred to the counties if the city hospitals are overwhelmed.

He said during his tours to some of the counties to assess their levels of preparedness, he found that most of the isolation facilities and ICU were fairly empty.

There are 12,513 isolation beds across the 47 counties with 498 being ICU. 

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