Govt to send coronavirus patients home for care
The government on Thursday announced that it was developing a protocol to guide safe home care for Covid-19 patients and their contacts.
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said that the government was moving to decongest hospitals and prevent them from being overwhelmed.
He added that the disease has stretched the limits of the country.
“Mbagathi and Kenyatta University hospitals are reaching full capacity. Many of the confirmed cases are asymptomatic and can be managed from home,” the CS said.
With this, he said the government was looking at sending some Covid-19 patients home, noting that over 80 per cent of patients in hospitals are asymptomatic.
“A lot of people in isolation facilities may be released to be taken care of in their homes. The Ministry has completed the process of home-based care protocols. I appeal to Kenyans, that when we release the protocols and we see people coming home, there is no need for stigmatization,” he said.
According to the CS, the country is not yet out of the woods and the fight against this disease has proven that it is a marathon and not a sprint.
“Let the families also take responsibility,” he said.
This he says is the only way that we can cope with what to expect in the future.
The home-based care which will be launched by the CS has been advocated by World Health Organisation to ease health systems.