This archive report was first published on 13 July 2020.
15 Pumwani Hospital Nurses Test Positive for COVID-19 ¶
Kenya is mourning the loss of its first doctor to succumb to COVID-19, Doreen Lugaliki, who died at the age of 38 on July 10, 2020. Her internment took place on July 13, 2020.
Just days after the country was in mourning, 15 nurses at Pumwani Hospital in Nairobi have tested positive for COVID-19. The nurses, who are asymptomatic, were confirmed to have contracted the virus at the maternity hospital.
KNUN chairman Boaz Onchari expressed his concerns over the vulnerability of health workers to the virus, stating that it was worrisome that the nurses had contracted the virus from the maternity hospital.
Onchari also confirmed that no coronavirus-related death had occurred in the hospital, despite the high number of positive cases.
The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists' Union (KMPDU) has urged the government to fulfill its commitment of protecting frontline health workers following Lugaliki's death.
On Saturday, July 11, 2020, the Ministry of Health and KMPDU announced that one more doctor had been admitted to the ICU after testing positive for the disease and was battling for life.
