27,770 vaccinated in Murang'a as Covid-19 infection soars

 

About 27,770 people have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in Murang'a county.

Among them are 2,799 health workers, 926 security officers, 4,146 teachers, 11,106 people aged 58 and above and another 8,802 residents. Infection is still on the rise. 

Some 16,505 people have received their second dose, including 1,947 health workers, 558 security officers, 2,434 teachers, 6,601 people aged 58 and above and another 4,965 residents.

This comes as the government gave a directive to all public servants to get vaccinated or face punitive action.

The directive issued by Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua on August 5 indicated that there has been a low uptake of the Covid-19 vaccine among public and civil servants and that some were deliberately avoiding it to continue working from home.

Murang'a has had 1,987 confirmed cases and 75 deaths since the first case was reported on June 5 last year. Of these cases, 1,984 were transmitted locally, while the rest were imported.

About 55.9 per cent of the cases were men. Most of the patients were aged between 30 and 39. A total of 111 health workers have contracted the virus.

According to the county Covid-19 outbreak report, only 596 had symptoms, including cough, fever, headache and breathing difficulty.

Kiharu had the bulk of the cases with 803 patients, Murang'a South followed with 370, Kandara had 232, Kigumo had 125, Kangema had 96 and Gatanga 185.

On Tuesday, 42 samples were collected and tested, of which 21 returned positive.

“About 15 calls were made to the Covid -19 call centre, bringing the total number of the calls to 39,” the report reads, adding that most of the callers were making enquiries and reporting suspected cases.

About 314 contacts are under follow-up.

As of August 9, the cumulative number of contacts listed was 5,248, of which 4,934 had completed the 14 days of follow-up.

The report indicates that the county public health emergency operations centre is almost fully activated and continues to coordinate response measures and provide daily situation reports to inform planning.

Nine patients recovered and were discharged, bringing the total number of recoveries and discharges to 1,648.

Currently, 15 patients are hospitalised at the county referral facility's ICU, 13 are on supplemental oxygen, two on ventilator support and 31 are on oxygen in the general ward, while 212 are under home-based care.

“School headteachers are advised to report any suspected cases to the subcounty education officer. As of today, one pupil has tested positive,” the report says.     BY THE STAR