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Kenya: COVID-19 – Governors Want State to Set Up Testing Centres in Counties

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5 years ago

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The level of county preparedness to handle the Covid-19 pandemic remains low even as some Kenyans troop to villages from towns.

The movement follows lifting of restrictions by President Uhuru Kenyatta on Nairobi, Mombasa and Mandera.

Most counties still do not have facilities to test, trace contacts, admit and successfully manage Covid-19 patients.

The Council of Governors Chairman Wycliffe Oparanya yesterday renewed calls for the national government to devolve Covid-19 testing to counties by helping set up and equip testing facilities.

“At the moment, our biggest challenge is the lack of testing kits in our facilities since this is the responsibility of the national government,” said Mr Oparanya.

500 SAMPLES

In Migori, for instance, Health Executive Iscah Oluoch said their major challenge is taking numerous samples to Kemri regional laboratory in Kisumu. He urged the government to set up a laboratory at Isebania border.

“We are testing close to 500 samples daily since the cessation of movement ban was lifted and the main challenge is having them transferred to Kisumu. The government should consider setting up a laboratory in Isebania to enable us to handle more samples,” Dr Oluoch said.

Mr Oparanya said at least 26 counties have complied with President Kenyatta’s directive to attain the 300-bed capacity as 21 others work to achieve that goal in the next one week.

He said 38 counties had trained a total of 19,177 healthcare workers, and the devolved units are now focusing on creating awareness on home-based care. “It is therefore paramount that every household is trained in a language they understand. I urge all the FM stations, especially vernacular stations, to take on this challenge and train Kenyans about home-based care.”

The CoG also wants Nyumba Kumi initiative used to promote surveillance systems for early detection of the infections.

Mr Oparanya said: “It is important to undertake continuous testing especially for healthcare workers. County governments have continued to test workers attending to Covid-19 patients after every two weeks.”

The CoG has asked the National Treasury to release allocations to the devolved units without delay.

However, questions have been raised on whether county governments are fully prepared to manage Covid-19 as claimed by most governors.