Mbagathi to open 150–bed health centre

Kitui County to set up hospital for officers

A 150-bed makeshift medical facility is set to be opened next two or three weeks at Mbagathi Hospital to deal with the increasing cases of Covid-19 in the city. Nairobi Metropolitan Services director of Health Josephine Kibaru-Mbae made the announcement and said that it is 90% complete and will have 20 Intensive Care Unit beds

“All the necessary equipment has been procured and hopefully, we will be able to open the facility in the next two or three weeks,” said Mbae.

Construction of the centre which began in July is a partnership with the University of Nairobi Enterprises and Services Limited. Fears of a looming crisis in Nairobi were widespread last week as Intensive Care Units set aside for Covid-19 patients were almost full.

Looming Covid-19 crisis

More than 2,000 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Nairobi in the past one week. The numbers spiked in the country after the government relaxed restriction measures to curb the pandemic. Head of Infectious Diseases at the Kenyatta National Hospital Loise Ombajo said hospitals are getting full at an alarming rate.

“In Nairobi, most ICU beds are almost full. Remember an ICU bed is not just a bed but comes with other amenities including human resource,” she said last Tuesday.

Mr Mbae however affirmed that no patients are being turned away at the hospitals. The NMS also conducted a two-day free mass testing in in the sub-counties.

“In Nairobi, we have not reached a point where patients are not being admitted. People are still being discharged, so we still have some space for admission,” she said.

Nairobi has remained the hotbed of the highly infectious disease since March when the first case of the virus was recorded in Kenya. As of October 31, the city had a total of 25,977 Covid-19 cases out of the country’s infection tally of 55,192.

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