Elgeyo Marakwet county governor Alex Tolgos has assured residents that the county is well prepared in the fight against the coronavirus and has installed five Intensive Care Unit beds at the Tambach isolation centre.
The governor added that plans were underway to have three more ICU beds at the Iten county referral hospital saying they were awaiting an oxygen plant and an incinerator from the national government.
Tolgos who was speaking at the Tambach isolation centre said the county already had 201 beds and assured residents that they would have the required 300 beds by the end of this month.
The governor said the county had also trained 20 nurses who would work in the ICU including ensuring that all the personnel had adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE’s) adding that an ambulance would be stationed at the isolation centre.
He said the county had allocated Sh110 million for the fight against Covid-19 which he said was used to equip the ICU and was also procuring other medical equipment which would assist in improving the health situation in the county.
“We have also trained our staff to ensure that we have a team which will respond immediately in case there is a Covid-19 case within the county,” the governor said.
Saying that his government has prioritized the safety of its health workers, the governor appreciated the work of the health personnel and assured them that they would be paid their allowances.
Acting CEC health Isaac Kamar said the county had embarked on community testing and that so far, a total of 55 people had been tested and all turned negative.
He said based on recommendations from the Ministry of Health, the county would encourage home-based care for all asymptomatic cases leaving the hospitals to deal with serious cases.
The governor thanked the County Assembly for ceding Sh30 million to the executive to aid in the control of the pandemic.
By Alice Wanjiru
