NAIROBI, Kenya Aug 3 – A 32-year-old nurse succumbed to coronavirus on Sunday, a week after successfully delivering her baby at the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital.
Kisii County Director of Public Health Richard Ongware said the nurse died after her lungs collapsed due to effects of the COVID-19.
The nurse had been referred from Rachuonyo Sub-County Hospital in Homa Bay County when she developed difficulties in breathing about two weeks ago and she was put in the intensive care unit.
“Her newborn is very much okay and he has tested negative on several tests done to him,” said Ongware.
Ongware noted, the patient gave birth normally to a baby boy weighing 1.7 kilograms. The baby was put in an incubator for monitoring.
Ongware said the nurse contracted the virus at 33 weeks of pregnancy and later started experiencing symptoms of coronavirus including difficulty in breathing.
Her husband and other close relatives have been on self-quarantine having been in close contact with her before she tested positive for the virus.
On Sunday, the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) asked the government to pay nurses a Sh20,000 monthly permanent risk allowance owing to their contribution in the fight against coronavirus.
The union’s Secretary General Seth Panyako said a majority of the nurses who are in the front-line in battling the coronavirus have so far been infected with the virus hence the need to consider the risk allowance in their salaries.
Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPPDU) acting Secretary General Dr. Chibanzi Mwachonda last week became the latest medic to test positive for the virus with his situation raising concerns on the safety of the health care workers.
The government has on numerous occasions reiterated its commitment to the safety of medical workers with Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe saying their welfare is well safeguarded.
On August 2 Kenya recorded 690 new infections from COVID-19, raising infections reported since March to 22,053.
Fatalities also rose to 369 after five more patients succumbed to the virus.
Kagwe said public health officials had conducted tests from 5,393 samples since Saturday, raising the cumulative tests conducted since March to 315,723.
Fifty-eight COVID-19 patients were discharged from various hospitals countrywide on Sunday, raising the total number of recoveries in the country to 8, 477.
“We are happy to inform that 58 patients have been discharged from various hospitals, bringing the total number of recoveries to 8,477. We congratulate our health care workers for this effort,” Kagwe said in a statement to newsrooms.
A six-month-old baby was among those who tested positive for the virus. The oldest aged 83.
Rosemary Onchari contributed to this article from Kisii.
About The Author
