Editor's Review

Not enough beds for Covid-19 patients

KMPDC has raised alarm over insufficient beds for Covid-19 patients as the country stares at a possible second wave of infections.

Kenya has 18,443 isolation beds for use by coronavirus patients against the national target of 30,500 units.

According to KMPDC, by October 12, some counties had not met the 300-bed requirement, which was the target set by President Uhuru Kenyatta in July.

KMPDC chief executive Daniel Yumbya said 17,951 of the available beds are for isolation while the remaining have been set aside for intensive care cases.


Worried council

Mr Yumbya maintained that the number of ICU beds in the country is not enough.

The council is worried that hospitals could be overwhelmed and has since started engaging at least 20 hotels to admit Covid-19 patients.

With the rise in infections, deaths and number of patients in ICU, experts are warning of a terrible situation should Kenyans continue ignoring guidelines and protocols given by the Ministry of Health.

On Friday MoH announced that 95 patients were in critical care, with 20 in ICU, 59 on supplementary oxygen and 16 in the high dependency unit.