This archive report was first published on 8 May 2020.
No end in sight as Kenya battles coronavirus ¶
Kenya's fight against the coronavirus has been a 56-day battle marked by missed targets, recoveries, and tens of deaths. The biggest hurdle to the war on the virus is testing, with the World Health Organisation warning that lack of it will be 'like fighting a fire blindfolded.'
As of April 23, the virus had sneaked into communities, with 15 of the 17 people who tested positive having no known history of travel outside the country. Kenya is doing an average of 50 tests per every positive case, compared to Uganda and Rwanda, which have done 333 and 100 tests respectively.
South Africa had done more than 270,000 tests by Thursday, highlighting the need for increased testing in Kenya. The ministry had projected that Kenya would have about 10,000 cases by the end of last month, but this modelling used a number of parameters, including testing of 200,000 to 300,000 people by April 30.
However, less than 30,000 people have been tested, with the highest number a day being 1,564. The plan to test 200,000 to 300,000 people by the end of April has been postponed, with the government now saying it will have tested 250,000 people by the end of next month.
Economist Kwame Owino has faulted the government's testing plan, saying that officials understand the logic of mass testing but are constrained by the fear from citizens who know that once they test positive, the financial cost of quarantine and the conditions are terrible.
His solution is to encourage people to take the tests, with those who do being entered into a lottery with a 1:100,000 possibility of winning a prize. This would cost the government just Sh47 million to conduct tests equal to the size of Kenya's population.
Kenya's battle against the virus is not just about testing limitations. The country has a problem in providing personal protective equipment, with the ministry saying it has distributed and delivered 3,682. Doctors' unions and associations say the country needs 8.2 million surgical masks, 4.1 million N95 masks, and other equipment.
Then there is the problem of intensive care units — the sick part of the country's healthcare. There are 518 beds in 79 public and private hospitals, but the ministry says the country has a shortage of 190 Covid-19 ICU beds.
Kenya has been lucky because 70 per cent of the coronavirus patients show no symptoms, meaning they do not require much medical care, let alone ICU beds. However, there are 297 functional ventilators in the country, and the Health ministry has said that there is a shortage of basic oxygenation equipment.
It added that Kenya requires 3,116 isolation beds, 2,280 of them in counties, to cater for patients who might not require ventilators and the ICU. The country also faces a shortage of beds, with 48,000 in 839 hospitals above level four.
Published on May 8, 2020
