This archive report was first published on 7 June 2020.
On June 6, 2020, Siaya County Deputy Governor James Okumbe announced the conversion of the 50-bed Urenga Health Centre in Ugenya Sub County into a Covid-19 isolation ward, increasing the county's isolation bed capacity to 60.
The new facility, which is the second isolation centre in the county, was converted before President Uhuru Kenyatta's revelation on June 6, 2020, that Siaya County had a 10-bed capacity isolation ward with 9 confirmed Covid-19 cases.
According to Deputy Governor Okumbe, the county had begun modalities to convert Urenga into an isolation centre long before the president's pronouncement, and the facility will soon start admitting patients.
Currently, there are only four corona patients in the isolation ward, with four other patients having recovered and one having passed away before being admitted at the Isolation centre in Bondo.
County Health CEC Dorothy Owino allayed fears on the low bed capacity, stating that all positive cases in the county were from outside the county, and urged residents to adhere to laid down health guidelines to keep the virus at bay.
"The only way we can win against this virus is if we continue washing our hands, putting on face masks and observing social distance. Let's not get tired of observing health guidelines stipulated by the government," Dr. Owino said.
