This archive report was first published on 12 July 2020.
Kenya's Covid-19 Crisis: A Looming Health Disaster ¶
Published on July 12, 2020
Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta's decision to lift cessation of movement orders in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Mandera has led to a significant increase in Covid-19 cases, with the country now widely exposed to the virus.
Since the lifting of the orders on June 29, Kenya has recorded over 1,562 cases, its highest within a one-week period, with Friday topping at 474.
As of June 30, the country had done over 90,000 tests, with 4,049 of these turning positive. The cases are rising exponentially, and the lifting of the measures may not be enough to contain the spread of the disease.
At the 10,000 mark, countries that were hard hit by the pandemic, including the US, China, Italy, Spain, and the UK, were on the contrary tightening restriction measures. They closed airspaces, social amenities, schools, restricted domestic movement, and beaches to battle the virus.
Kenya's healthcare system is still not ready to take on a surge in infections, with the latest data showing that the system will be overwhelmed. By Friday, there were only 442 ICU beds and 437 ventilators in the country, with over 10,000 isolation beds, against the national target of 30,500 units.
For counties like Vihiga, Elgeyo-Marakwet, Samburu, Tana River, Lamu, and Embu, they did not even have a single ICU bed. At the same time, only 26 of the 47 counties had at least 300 beds in their isolation centres and ICU beds and ventilators.
Kenya has dropped targeted mass testing, which was initially done to contain the spread of the disease. The country has also failed to meet the three irreducible minimums it set for itself, including having the capacity for surveillance and contact-tracing.
South Africa, which is also implementing a phased reopening, has around 2,000 ICU beds allocated to Covid-19 patients, with a further 13,000 field hospital beds, and 35,000 quarantine beds have been added to the total capacity, showing its state of preparedness.
Rwanda, which has also opted to reopen, is currently piloting drive-through tests on major entries to its cities and bus stops, which it hopes will increase the number of people tested to understand the Covid-19 statistics.
