Kenya’s Covid-19 burden is at an all-time low, with some counties lacking a single patient in hospital, statistics from the Health ministry show.
Over the past two weeks, daily reports from the ministry showed that less than 100 new infections were recorded in 24-hour periods, with deaths falling to zero on some days. So far, infections have hit 253,409, with 5,282 deaths.
Over the past one month, however, daily reports have shown slow rates of infections and deaths, with several hospitals reporting zero or a few hospital admissions.
Several counties have reported that there were no known active Covid-19 cases, with isolation wards having no patients in some. In some instances, only home-based care cases were reported.
Homa Bay County, for example, had no active cases of the respiratory disease, and at the county teaching and referral hospital, a 10-bed ICU that was once filled with patients was empty.
In the hospital parking lot, High Dependency Unit (HDU) tents put up by medical charity MSF to reduce the pressure at the ICU have been removed.
Despite reduced infections, frontline health workers are active and waiting to respond to any reported case.
MSF Homa Bay project coordinator Roshni Mahida said the humanitarian organisation is ready to take necessary action if another wave of the virus is reported.
At the Malela isolation centre that was set aside for infected health workers, staff have been reporting to work but are not taking care of patients.
In Migori, health officials are referring Covid-19 cases to home-based isolation, although the county has recorded a sharp decline in infections.
The Nation established that the county had not witnessed severe Covid-19 complications, with most diagnosed cases being asymptomatic.
At Migori County Referral Hospital, the 300 isolation beds are empty, with no recent admissions.
The isolation ward at the Macalder Treatment Centre in Nyatike sub-county was also empty.
Clinicians and nurses interviewed by the Nation said the decline in Covid-19 cases had prompted them to refer positive patients to home-based care.
Health executive Kephas Nyamita said the department had seen a sharp decline in positive cases just as it was “running out of funds to effectively manage the units”.
At the isolation facility at Kisumu’s Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital, five patients were admitted with respiratory illnesses that were not linked to Covid-19.
Hospital CEO George Rae explained that out of about eight patients admitted in the holding area, rapid Covid-19 tests showed three were positive and the rest negative.
“We had to do a further PCR elaborate test at Kemri. The results of the three people again turned negative,” Dr Rae said.
The patients, he said, were still being treated for respiratory infections at the hospital.
County Director of Public Health Fred Oluoch said 10 Covid-19 patients were under home-based care.
“The number of Covid-19 patients has been reducing. We are still appealing to residents to be vaccinated,” he said.
In Kisii, by yesterday, 12 patients were admitted at Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital with Covid-19.
Another 54 were under home-based care, said County Public Health Director Dr Richard Onkware.
Some 14 inmates at Kisii’s main prison, he said, had tested positive for the virus but they had been vaccinated and were in quarantine.
Dr Onkware clarified that there were no patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), saying all cases were in stable condition.
In Vihiga County, the main isolation ward at the referral hospital in Mbale was not holding any patients as there had been no new admissions.
The Covid-19 situational report also showed that no patient had been admitted to the five-bed ICU.
And no patient was on oxygen support, indicating that pressure from the pandemic could be diminishing.
Only six patients were in home-based isolation care in Vihiga.
In some counties, however, a few Covid-19 deaths were reported. They included Kakamega, where one death was recorded earlier in the week. Nine patients were in isolation wards.
Health executive Dr Collins Matemba said three Covid-19 patients were in the ICU while three others were on oxygen support.
Whether the decline in Covid-19 infections is due to vaccination or herd immunity, medical staff in several counties are still cautioning that another wave could hit Kenya if people let their guard down.
Leaders have also warned that low vaccine uptake despite availability could trigger another wave of infections.
In counties like Nyandarua, only 30,398 people of the targeted 376,776 were fully vaccinated by the end of last month.
Health executive Dr John Mungai warned Kenyans against apathy, saying that almost all health facilities had been commissioned and issued with vaccines.
The low vaccination turnout has pushed counties like Laikipia to start a Covid-19 outreach campaign in a bid to reach more residents.
County health officials said more residents had been reached through a drive targeting colleges, schools, market centres, burial ceremonies and church gatherings.
Health executive Rose Maitai said her department has been administering first and second doses of the AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines at 84 health centres, adding that about 150,000 residents had been vaccinated.
“Enough stock of vaccines is available at various dispensaries and health centres across the county. We also have enough trained healthcare workers administering the jab,” she said. BY DAILY NATION