Alarm as 22 medics test positive for Covid-19

EU envoy Simon Mordue (left) is flanked by Red Cross boss Asha Mohamed and Kisumu Deputy Governor Mathews Owili.

Twenty-two healthcare workers in Kisumu have tested positive for coronavirus, the county Department of Health says.

Another 105 have been quarantined. So far, Kisumu has recorded 631 corona cases.

However, despite the new numbers, locals have thrown cushion to the wind, with many operating without masks and disregarding social distancing requirements.

Speaking yesterday at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital, Kisumu Deputy Governor Mathews Owili said infections among health workers are threatening response to the virus.

The Deputy Governor spoke while receiving a Sh7.7 million consignment of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE’s) from the European Union ambassador to Kenya Simon Mordue and Asha Mohamed, the Kenya Red Cross Secretary General. “We need more PPEs and training of healthcare workers,” Owili said.

Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital has screened 160,000 cases from March.

Of these, 82 have turned positive for the virus, three have died and 79 have recovered. The hospital's CEO Peter Okoth said more PPEs are required for the 1,000 workforce.

He said in a week, the facility uses around 7,000 surgical face masks.