Two patients who had been admitted at the Marsabit county referral hospital’s isolation ward after they tested positive for coronavirus have been discharged after recovering from the illness.
Marsabit county government which recently allocated Sh28.8 million to the department of health has heightened the response to the pandemic.
The County’s chief officer Fatuma Jillo said yesterday that they were doing everything at their disposal to increase the current isolation and response beds from 50 to 300.
Ms. Jillo said the patients who included a 7 month child from Sagante ward in Marsabit Central sub-county and a 54 year old boda boda operator from Loglogo ward in neighbouring Laisamis sub-county were allowed to leave the hospital on Friday after repeated tests showed they had recovered from Covid-19.
The chief officer added that samples for the two patients were for the second time analyzed on July 1 which showed that they no longer exhibited any symptoms related to the virus.
She disclosed that by June 24, a total of 234 people in the county had undergone testing for coronavirus among them 32 contacts of the two victims.
“We have discharged the two patients in accordance with the health requirements,” she said adding that health guidelines demand that a patient should undergo two comprehensive tests and if proved fit, they should be allowed to go home.
She said the patients, whose first tests were done on 24th of last month, would be accompanied by health officials to their homes to ensure smooth reintegration and set out guidelines on their extended quarantine which ends on July 7.
Ms. Jillo said that it was yet to be established how the seven year old baby contracted the virus while the mother was not infected.
She urged residents to take precautionary measures to guard against contracting the disease by strictly adhering to the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health especially regarding putting on face masks and social distancing.
The chief officer added that hand washing and minimizing unnecessary movements by staying at home was also an effective way of safeguarding oneself from contracting the virus.
On response preparedness, she said that fifty beds had been procured and fixed in isolation wards while arrangements were being made to procure the remaining 250.
By Sebastian Miriti
