This archive report was first published on 5 August 2020.
Kenyan Women Develop Social Distancing Isolation Beds ¶
On August 5, 2020, two women from Voi, Taita Taveta County, Jacinta Chao and Rosalia Anguli, made headlines for developing a special Covid-19 isolation bed capable of enforcing the one-meter social distancing directive.
The 22-year-old Jacinta and 24-year-old Rosalia, both jua kali artisans, came together to solve the challenge many counties in the country are facing. Their innovative bed has a sensor fitted that beeps when one gets within a one-meter radius around the bed.
This comes in handy as it helps healthcare workers and other patients to exercise caution whenever approaching a patient assigned to the bed. The two women believe that their beds will be able to solve the challenge of beds in isolation facilities and help curb the infections by healthcare workers.
According to Jacinta, they hoped to bridge the shortage of beds being faced in the country after President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered a 300-bed capacity in all counties. They have appealed to the Taita Taveta county to help them with their innovation so as to produce the beds in mass.
Rosalia noted that they were persuaded to embark on the project after getting advice from friends since they were already in the jua kali sector. They have friends who advised them and they decided to buy materials to build the bed.
