Nairobi Hospital adds four Covid-19 wards as infections surge in Kenya
The Nairobi Hospital on Wednesday added four wards dedicated to dealing with Covid-19 patients, following a surge in cases.
In a statement, the hospital said they had set aside the wards to manage rising number of Covid-19 cases they have been receiving.
The four are St Andrew’s, St. David’s, St. Francis (for those awaiting test results) and Short Stay Unit (SSU) wards for the management of the novel virus patients.
“We regret the inconvenience this may cause and request your patience…” acting CEO Margaret Sirima said.
Nairobi Hospital further announced that plans are underway to have Coronavirus cases managed at the Old School of Nursing.
The latest development comes in the backdrop of an announcement from the Ministry of Health that Kenya is probably headed for a second Coronavirus wave.
Kenya’s infection curve has taken a sharp turn, recording over 4,500 new cases in the past one month, with the daily average for the past seven days nearing 400 compared to 164 a week to September 30 when the president announced easing of containment measures.
Health CS Mutahi Kagwe on Sunday warned Kenyans to brace themselves for fresh containment measures, warning of a “potential crisis”.
“At a 12 per cent incline and a daily rise in deaths, we can confidently point to a potential crisis unless we take some immediate action to avert this. We can choose to sink or swim,” he said, adding that the country was headed for ‘tough times ahead’.
Barely a month ago, President Uhuru Kenyatta relaxed some of the lockdown measures, but warned the Covid-19 situation remained fluid, terming it a ‘season of paradoxes.’
Kenya has seen a steep rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in the past three weeks, partly fuelled by political rallies that have seen thousands of attendees flouting every laid down health protocol.