This archive report was first published on 18 June 2020.
As of June 18, 2020, Busia County in Kenya was facing a severe capacity crisis in its fight against Covid-19, with its only isolation centre, Alupe Sub-County Hospital, filled to capacity with truck drivers nursing the virus.
According to David Mukabi, the county's director of Universal Healthcare, the situation was expected to worsen due to the interaction between truck drivers and locals at the Busia and Malaba borders.
"The objective is to establish the spread of the disease in the region. We are anticipating widespread community infections because of the truck drivers," Mukabi said in an interview with The Standard.
Mass testing for truck drivers was launched in March, but the county's Covid-19 response team warned of a sharp increase in coronavirus infections in Busia.
As of Tuesday, the total number of recorded positive cases in the county stood at 323, making it the third worst hit county in the country after Nairobi and Mombasa cities.
The county has partnered with Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (Ampath) to roll out mass testing in the region, targeting Busia and Malaba, the virus' hot spots.
However, the county is struggling to find additional space to accommodate the rising number of patients, with St Monica Chakol Secondary School and Busia Agricultural Training Centre (ATC) identified as potential isolation facilities.
But the county has not equipped Chakol with the requisite equipment, and ATC has only 44 beds, with the county's Health department Chief Officer Isaac Omeri stating that only symptomatic patients would be taken to the ATC due to limited resources.
