Nakuru County overwhelmed by oxygen demand

The Rift Valley PGH oxygen plant in Nakuru [Picture: Antony Gitonga]

The oxygen processing plant in Nakuru PGH is overwhelmed by rising demand in the county as the number of Covid-19 cases continues to rise.

As a result, the Hewa Tele plant that is a joint venture between the county government and a private entrepreneurship has been forced to seek more supply from another plant in Siaya County.

This comes barely a week after Governor Lee Kinyanjui admitted that the county is overwhelmed by the rising cases of Covid-19, with all the ICU beds and isolation centres filled up.

On Sunday, the county announced that 87 patients were under oxygen support and another four in ICU. 

CEC Health Dr Gichuki Kariuki said the demand for oxygen by public and private hospitals is on the rise.

Rising demand

“The Hewa Tele plant which we jointly run with a private company has been overwhelmed by the rising demand due to the increased number of people suffering from Covid-19,” he said.

Kariuki noted that the plant was also supplying the oxygen to private facilities in the region. “The county is doing every possible to assist those affected by the pandemic, and we are calling on residents to follow the laid down measures by Ministry of Health,” he said.

On the AstraZeneca vaccine, he said that the county was also overwhelmed by the rising numbers of persons in need of the jab.

He noted that the numbers of those seeking the vaccine had tripled in the last one week after two weeks of poor turn-out.

“We have seen the number of persons seeking the vaccine rise sharply in the last one week, and we are doing everything possible to have them vaccinated,” he said.

This came as former IDPs in various camps in Mai Mahiu called on the county government to consider them in the ongoing vaccination campaign.

One of the victims of post-election violence Henry Maina said that most of them could not afford to travel to Naivasha to get the jab.

“Most of these IDPs have underlying conditions caused by the post-election violence. They should be considered in the ongoing vaccination exercise,” he said.