Coronavirus cases have not stretched healthcare system - CS Kagwe

The upsurge of positive coronavirus cases has not overloaded the health system, Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has said. Speaking in Kilifi County on Monday, the CS challenged reports by the media that hospitals are overstretched due to the surge in cases. "The stories circulating around in the press that we are overwhelmed by the disease in terms of our bed capacity is not true. People are talking about Nairobi Hospital, Aga Khan and perhaps M.P Shah," Kagwe said. He said the main hospitals in focus as the country grapples with the second wave will be public hospitals, especially those in the counties. The CS urged governors to ensure county hospitals are fitted with enough ICU beds in case numbers continue rising. Kagwe warned the county heads that if the country continues experiencing the surge of positive cases, then each county will have to deal with its patients. "I continue to urge the county governments to emulate what those who have invested in isolation beds, Intensive Care Unit beds, High Dependency Unity (HDU) beds to do so very quickly because there will be no movement of patients from one county to another." The CS’s statements came as the country recorded 724 new positive cases in the past 24 hours, a half of which were reported in Nairobi. The new cases raise the country's total caseload to 50,833, shooting the positivity rate to 14.2 per cent. CS Kagwe said the new cases are from 5,085 samples which push the country's cumulative tests to 704,605. The youngest case is a one-year-old child and the oldest aged 84. On a positive note, 248 patients recovered with 178 from the home-based care programme, while 70 were discharged from various hospitals. Around 1,300 patients are admitted in various health facilities, while 4,800 are in home-based isolation and care. Another 55 patients are separately on supplementary oxygen, out of which 45 are in general wards, while 10 are in HDU. Unfortunately, the country has recorded an additional 14 fatalities in the last 24 hours, raising the total number of deatha to 1,027. There are currently 54 patients in ICU across the country. Out of the 54 patients, 26 are on ventilatory support while 28 are on supplemental oxygen.