This archive report was first published on 8 July 2020.
As Kenya lifts restrictions on movement, allowing people to travel freely, Nairobi Hospital is struggling to cope with the rising number of Covid-19 cases.
On July 4, the hospital had admitted 164 patients, with 22 requiring intensive care, according to CEO Christopher Abeid.
‘Over this past weekend, the management faced a big challenge to stretch the hospital’s capacity to accommodate a sudden rise in cases presenting at the accident and Emergency department with suspected Covid-19,’ Abeid said.
The hospital has seen a significant increase in admissions, from 35% bed occupancy in mid-April to 63% in July.
With the country experiencing a surge in Covid-19 cases, with 8,250 confirmed cases and 164 fatalities as of July 4, Abeid hopes that a partnership with the UN will help establish a new facility to alleviate the hospital’s capacity issues.
‘This will give us a 150-bed state-of-the-art Coronavirus hospital at the old nursing school,’ Abeid said.
The new facility will have a 25 ICU bed capacity, ECMO capacity, and its own operating theater, and is expected to be operational within 5-8 weeks.
