Health CS Mutahi Kagwe has outlined the government’s short term, mid term and long term plans to tackle the Covid-19 and work towards restoring Kenya’s economy even as the Coronavirus cases keep on increasing. Among the short term plans, the government intends to enhance targeted testing at identified hotspots and high risk places of entry, upscale lab and testing capacity, travel restrictions both internal and external, and offering psychosocial support.
Mid term plans include capacitate Counties to test the Coronavirus, establish functional isolation and quarantine facilities, continue targeted testing and offering psychosocial support. In the long term, the plan is to lift restrictions placed countrywide and offer psychological support and reintegration of those affected by the Covid-19 back in to the society.
Speaking to the press on Tuesday, the Health CS noted that under targeted testing, the health officials are able to deal with the Coronavirus better, citing that many countries have opted for this instead of mass testing which can be wasteful and can’t offer the true state of the prevalence of Covid-19 in the society. He said that 51 people in Kenya have tested positive for the Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, out of 1,933 tested samples. 46,784 tests have been done so far. 22 more people have recovered and have been discharged. Cases at the border points are still an issue, an example being Namanga in Kajiado, where 16 people tested positive and 126 drivers who are foreigners returned to Tanzania.
Pointing out the hot-spot areas in Mombasa and Nairobi, he said Mvita has been the most affected. In Nairobi, the most affected sub counties are Kamukunji, Dagoretti North, Embakasi East, Lang’ata and Kibra. The CS further said there is a worrying trend where deaths are happening in houses and urged those who are feeling unwell to go to hospitals, “We’ve been explaining that people must not be kept at home… If a person is unwell take them to hospital.”