Vihiga County leaning towards Covid-19 home based care option, says Saisi

Vihiga Deputy Governor Patrick Saisi has affirmed that the County administration and health workers find the Coronavirus home based care option easy to apply and more favorable than treatment in health facilities. The Ministry of Health has advocated for the home based care program, citing among other reasons, the role it plays in relieving hospitals and easing the burden on the health system.

Speaking during an interview with West FM on Sunday night, Saisi said the program is good and it will make things easier, “If more people contract the virus and are admitted, the hospital beds may not be enough and we’ll have a problem,” he said, “As a County, we’ve already started training community health workers so that the can be ready when required to be part of the home based care program in their respective areas of residence.”

With the national government directing Counties to set up 300 isolation beds each to enhance preparedness, Saisi said Vihiga has around 200 isolation beds as part of the project, with a further 100 still being put together at local polytechnics. He added that health workers have received PPEs to protect themselves from infection, and that the working conditions and the conditions at the health facilities have been improved.