The county government of Garissa in partnership with the Kenya Red Cross Society has set up 4 screening sites to boost the war against Covid-19 in the area.
The deputy director for medical services in charge of operations Ahmed Bashey said the screening centres at the Garissa GK prisons, Garissa primary school, and the Referral Hospital are now operational and readily available for members of the public willing to undergo voluntary screening.
Speaking today at the Garissa primary school screening centre during an inspection tour of the sites Bashey urged area residents to visit and be tested for free in the three sites.
Bashey said that the county government is concerned following the increased cases of residents testing positive to the highly infectious disease.
“In the last 72 hours we confirmed 5 new cases raising the number of Covid-19 positive cases in the county to 304 and total number of deaths to 10 since the outbreak,” Bashey said.
The deputy director said that the total number of samples tested since the outbreak stood at 3,876.
Bashey said 226 persons are under home-based care while 75 patients who had fully recovered had been discharged.
Garissa township leads with 238 cases followed by Dadaab with 51 cases, Fafi 13 with Lagdera and Hulugho reporting one case each. Ijara and Balambala sub counties have no reported cases.
Bashey further noted that health workers were at a greater risk of contracting Covid-19 revealing that out of the 497 health workers screened 45 tested positive.
He expressed concern over the increased cases of patients escaping from isolation centers putting at risk their loved ones from contracting the virus and spreading them within their communities.
The deputy director added that lack of cooperation by some contacts with health officials also remains a major challenge.
Bashey assured members of the public of the necessary support including psycho-social support by health personnel engaged in active cases at community level and health facilities.
By Jacob Songok
