KISUMU, Kenya, Jul 19 – Kisumu County disposed off 61 unclaimed bodies on Monday at the Mamboleo public cemetery to free the morgues after the Governor Anyang Nyong’o-led administration received clearance from the court.
County Director of Health Fred Oluoch said the court gave the county a go ahead to bury the bodies after the families failed to collect them.
“We went to court. Of course, I signed the affidavit and we were given orders to bury the unclaimed bodies,” he said.
Oluoch said 16 more bodies were set for mass burial after getting clearance from the court but the county is giving a week-long notice for the families to move with speed and collect them for burial.
He said the county was mopping all bodies in public morgues that have stayed for months without collection for decent burials.
“We still have 16 bodies, 3 from Ahero Sub County Hospital and 13 bodies from Kisumu County Referral Hospital,” he said.
Speaking during a COVID-19 conference in Kisumu organized by Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Oluoch said the county was doing everything within its power to contain the spread of the virus.
He announced that the second dose vaccination had picked pace but got hampered by the slow delivery of the doses.
Oluoch said in the first vaccination, 34,203 targeted people received a dose while in the second phase, only 14,504 people had been vaccinated.
He said the number had stagnated as a result of fewer doses being sent to the counties.
“We deplete vaccines within two weeks on deployment meaning there is a high demand,” the health executive said.