Mombasa converts Tudor hospital as Covid-19 isolation centre

 

Mombasa County has converted Tudor Sub-County Hospital from a maternity centre into a Covid-19 isolation facility as infections rise in the region.

The hospital will now manage mild and less severe Covid-19 cases, said Medical Services Chief Officer Dr Khadija Shikely.

“We are seeing an increase in cases and have had to use the Tudor facility to decongest Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital (CGTRH). We want to free up beds at CTGRH for severe cases,” Dr Shikely told Nation.Africa by phone.

The CTGRH isolation centre, she noted, has 150 beds and officials are increasing this capacity by 40 beds at Tudor.

The Covid-19 situation does not require an increase in capacity in other facilities, said Public Health Officer Pauline Oginga.

“We have not reached a stage where it warrants more beds than the current capacity at CGTRH and Tudor,” she said.

Infection numbers issued daily, she said, seem to fluctuate and reflect figures received from the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) facility in Kilifi County.

The numbers are determined by the pace of testing at Kemri-Kilifi, which also tests other samples from the rest of the Coast region, she said.

“There are days we have zero cases. It doesn’t mean that there are no cases but it is because Kemri-Kilifi is seemingly overwhelmed by the samples from all over the region,” Ms Odinga said.

The county’s public health department, she said, was working with the community through community health volunteers, radio talk shows and by providing handwashing facilities that include 740 water tanks and soap.

“We are tightening surveillance and in coordination with the local administration and police to nab those contravening Covid-19 protocols on wearing of masks,” she said.

“We have consistently gone to the public areas like the footbridge to engage with the community and create awareness.”

She urged residents to be vaccinated for Covid-19.

As of July 15, at least some 17,000 residents had received their second dose of vaccines. They include health workers (3,130), security guards (773), teachers (2,003), people aged 58 and above (5,093) and others (6,930).     BY DAILY NATION