KMPDU mourns Dr. Kenneth Mutuma who succumbed to COVID-19

KMPDU mourns Dr. Kenneth Mutuma who succumbed to COVID-19

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) is mourning the death of Dr Kenneth Mutuma.

Dr. Mutuma passed on this week due to COVID-19 complications.

“He worked at Mbagathi Hospital, served his patients diligently & was an inspiration to his peers. The fraternity will miss you dearly. Condolences to the family and friends,” the union said on Twitter.

According to KMPDU, 16 doctors have died of the virus since it was detected in the country in March last year.

In December last year, deaths of doctors led KMPDU to call for a strike. They however suspended it for two weeks to give time for more talks with the government.

“The life and death of the young doctor (Stephen Mogusu) summarizes all that is wrong with government engagement with doctors,” Simon Kigondu, secretary general of the Kenya Medical Association, told Reuters.

Angry medical students and doctors held a vigil outside the Health Ministry.

“It’s not worth dying for this system. If I could tell anything to my younger self, it would be don’t join medicine,” said Amina Mohammed, a former classmate of Mogusu.

A former classmate of Mogusu told Reuters at the vigil: “We are the care givers and protectors of this country, yet we are treated like trash.”

On Friday, the Health Ministry reported 28 deaths from COVID-19, the highest-ever number of deaths from the virus since March 2020 when Kenya reported its first case.

MOH_Kenya is extremely concerned with the number of rising cases of those contracting the coronavirus disease in the country. Yesterday we recorded a positivity rate of 17 per cent.  Today it has gone up as we have recorded a 17.5 per cent  positivity rate,” the ministry said on Twitter.

— Dr Ahmed Kalebi (@DrAhmedKalebi) March 20, 2021

MOH also confirmed 1,354 COVID-19 infections from a sample size of 7,732 tested for the virus in the last 24 hours.

It was also reported that the numbers of those being admitted to health facilities with the virus has been rising at an alarming rate.

By Friday, 114 patients had been admitted to our Intensive Care Units (ICU).

“We are in the third wave of this virus, and it‘s a wave that threatens to erase all the gains we have made as a country in fighting the pandemic over the last one year,” the ministry said.

Additional report from Reuters

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