Tag Archives: CS Kagwe

Breaking News, General, Health

Featured: How to take care of asymptomatic covid-19 patients from home, Government releases guidelines

Leave a comment

Featured: How to take care of asymptomatic covid-19 patients from home, Government releases guidelines

 

On Sunday, the Kenyan government released guidelines to be followed by Covid-19 patients to maintain safe home-based care.

 

This move comes to the rescue of the overstretched health care system in the country with Mbagathi and Kenyatta national hospital almost full.

 

ASYMPTOMATIC PATIENTS

MOH Acting Director-General Dr. Patrick Amoth announced that hospitals will be discharging asymptomatic patients so that they may recuperate from home through a safe home-based care system.

 

COVID- 19 HOME-BASED CARE GUIDELINES; FULL LIST

  1. Covid-19 laboratory report

The patient must have a covid-19 report from the laboratory

  1. Asymptomatic

The patient in question must be asymptomatic or have a very mild form of the coronavirus disease.

  1. Pre-existing medical conditions

The patient must not have any pre-existing medical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic chest problem, etc. that may put his or her life at risk.

  1. Separate space

Fourthly, the patient must have ample space, separate from the rest of the family to be used during isolation.

Besides, the isolation room should be well-ventilated to reduce the risk of further spread.

  1. Infection control

The patient together with his or her caregiver must strictly observe infection control prevention measures such as washing hands regularly, use of sanitizers, wearing face masks among others.

  1. Visitors

No visitor should be allowed to access the isolation room except for the caregiver.

  1. PPEs and Thermometer

The patient must have access to personal protective equipment, PPEs and a thermometer to regularly check the temperature.

  1. Referral plan

The patient must have a referral plan- a facility that is easily accessible where he or she can be quickly referred to in case their condition deteriorates.

  1. Waste disposal

The patients should dispose of their waste properly and separate cutlery to limit the spread of the virus to the rest of the members.

The home-based care system which will soon be rolled out by the government has been endorsed by the World Health Organization, WHO to ease congestion in hospitals.

Breaking News, Health

PHOTOS OF PERSONS ESCAPING QUARANTINE FACILITIES TO BE PUBLISHED AS MBAGATHI, KENYATTA HOSPITALS EXCEED THEIR DECLARED CAPACITY

Leave a comment

PHOTOS OF PERSONS ESCAPING QUARANTINE FACILITIES TO BE PUBLISHED AS MBAGATHI, KENYATTA HOSPITALS EXCEED THEIR DECLARED CAPACITY

The Kenyan Government is planning to publish photos of all persons escaping quarantine facilities with an aim to protect and alert Kenyans of the imminent danger they are exposed to being around such people.

Confirming the government’s plan, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe said the government may begin making the identities of quarantine escapees public soon.

 

COURTING DISASTER

CS Kagwe described such individuals as a danger to society.

The government is closely following and is concerned about the people placed under quarantine or isolation centers.

Therefore, those who are entertaining these criminals are courting disaster.

He reiterated that nothing can stop the Ministry of Health from publicizing the identity of the escapees so that the general public can identify them.

“ When we get to the point where we know that some people are running away, there is nothing that can stop the Ministry of Health from publishing photographs in the newspapers and saying that these people have run away from quarantine facilities and if you see them call the police or us because they are a danger to the society.”

Six flee from a quarantine facility in Turkana

The CS also noted that six people who tested positive for the novel coronavirus escaped from a quarantine facility in Turkana on Wednesday but the Government’s long arm caught up with them.

He also noted that some patients were deliberately giving the wrong contacts during testing. The CS issued a stern warning against such individuals adding that the Government will catch up with them soon.

 

Mbagathi, Kenyatta University Hospitals Exceed Capacity

The above warning comes at a time when the Ministry of Health is considering changing tack in the handling of coronavirus patients.

 

The government is likely to adopt a home-based approach, allowing COVID-19 patients in isolation facilities released.

The patients will then be allowed to undergo medical treatment from the comfort of their homes.

According to the MOH data, the two major isolation facilities are almost filled up at a critical time when the number of coronavirus positive cases is continuously rising.

Kenyatta University hospital which has a bed capacity of 456 beds had a total of 346 coronavirus positive patients.

Mbagathi Hospital on the other hand has a bed capacity of 112.

The CS added that since more than 80% of the patients are asymptomatic, they can be managed through home-based or community based care.

“If this will be implemented, it will free our health facilities from congestion because we are almost reaching full status,” said Kagwe.