NAIROBI, Kenya Nov 14 – Four doctors succumbed to coronavirus within 24 hours lapsing Saturday raising concerns over the safety of the medics on the frontline in the fight against the global pandemic.
Kenya has so far recorded 1,228 deaths since the onset of COVID-19 pandemic in the country in March.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, 25 doctors have since succumbed to the virus out of 2, 200 infected.
Kenya Medical Practitioners and Pharmacists and Dentist’s Union (KMPDU) Secretary General Chibanzi Mwachonda on Saturday confirmed the deaths of the four doctors namely Dr. Emarah Ashraf, Dr. Hudson Alumera, Dr. Jackline Njoroge and Dr. Faith Kanjiru Mbuba.
“This is devastating news to the profession. KMPDU condoles with the families of our departed colleagues and may their souls rest in eternal peace,” he said.
Consequently, Mwachonda said the union has convened a Special National Advisory Council meeting on Sunday to deliberate “on the way forward on the welfare, occupational safety and health of all doctors”.
In the meantime, Mwachonda instructed all doctors not to risk their lives while in the line of duty until the government guarantees them of their safety.
“All doctors are instructed not to risk their lives as per section 14(2) of the occupational safety health act 2017 pending the resolutions of the NAC meeting,” he said.
Dr. Ashraf until his demise was a plastic surgeon at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH). Dr. Alumera was an Implant Surgeon and Consultant Periodontologist at the University of Nairobi School of Dental Sciences.
The number of fatalities in the country has been on an upward trajectory in October and November with twenty deaths being reported daily on average.
On Wednesday, Kenya recorded its single highest death fatality rate yet after 26 patients succumbed to the virus.
The latest deaths associated to COVID-19 in the medical circle have raised alarm among the doctors who put their lives on the line to save hundreds of thousands of Kenyans who have contracted the virus.
Kenya has so far recorded 68,193 COVID-19 cases.
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