NAIROBI, Kenya June 21 – At least 600 COVID-19 patients have been discharged in Kenya for home-based treatment and care.
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said 212 were discharged from Coast General Hospital while 38 were released from Kenyatta University Hospital.
“The patients are released after 14 days in hospital and as per the World Health Organisation protocols, it is difficult for them to spread the virus after that,” he said.
On Sunday, Kagwe said the country had recorded 260 new COVID-19 cases, the largest number of infections on a single day.
This pushed the number of infections in the country to 4,738 since March when the first case was confirmed in the country.
“The more we test, the more cases we get,” said Kagwe, “we had 260 positive cases confirmed in the past 24 hours.”
“Following recent financial allocations from the National Government, we now have the greater capacity to combat COVID-19 by enhancing not just our testing capacity, but also our distribution of free masks to the vulnerable communities, among us and contact tracing mechanisms,” he said.
With the up-scaling of health facilities across the country ongoing, Kagwe said the government will not rest until all the 47 counties are well prepared to tackle the virus.
Director-General of Public Health Patrick Amoth said the government’s assessment on the home-based treatment program has so far been remarkable and urged the caregivers to strictly observe protocols issued to them by public health officials.
“Home-based care is not a new practice in the field of medicine. It has been done previously and very successfully for HIV/AIDS. What is important is that it places a premium on the person who is undergoing home-based care to be able to be a responsible citizen,” he said.
The home care-based program has been touted by the government as an ideal solution to patients who exhibit mild symptoms of the virus and those who are asymptomatic.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has been at the forefront in urging governments around the world to adopt the treatment especially to those countries whose health facilities are overwhelmed by critically ill patients.
