COVID-19: Kirinyaga County sets up 200-bed isolation centre

The National Government COVID-19 technical assistance team has lauded the Kirinyaga County Government’s efforts towards preparedness for the coronavirus pandemic.

The team led by Dr. Evanson Kamuri, CEO Kenyatta National Hospital, visited isolation wards at Kerugoya Level Four Hospital and toured an isolation medical centre at Kianyaga in Gichugu Constituency expected to be complete within the next one month.

Dr. Kamuri said the Kirinyaga County Government had set aside at least 200 beds and that the team was assured that within the next one-month period the county will have at least 300 isolation beds.

”At the moment we have seen they have more than 200 beds and it is very encouraging,” Dr. Kamuri said.

The county government has set up isolation centers in Kerugoya Level Four Hospital, Kimbimbi Health Center, Baricho Health Center, Kianyaga Health Center and Sagana Sub-County Hospital.

Dr. Kamuri noted that there was great need for counties to establish compressive isolation centers that will cater for all other ailments that may arise amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said that the technical team was on a mission to establish what the counties had done on COVID-19 preparedness and also the challenges they were facing in order to see where they can forge partnerships to enhance the capacity of counties to fight the pandemic.

Also in the delegation was Dr. Githinji Gitahi, Amref Health African group CEO who urged the county governments to mobilize resources through multi-agency response teams in order to enhance the capacity to manage the pandemic.

The technical team observed that with the rising cases of coronavirus infections, counties should now consider turning one Health Center into an entire COVID-19 center.

Kirinyaga County registered its first positive case of coronavirus after inter-county borders were opened with cases rising to 27 within a month.