Claims of 20 positive health staff a fantasy, says Kagwe
Bernard Gitau @benagitau
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has termed claims by Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) that there are four doctors, six clinical officers and 10 nurses who tested positive for Covid-19 as fantasy.
The union had also claimed another 80 health workers are in quarantine
Speaking at Afya House yesterday, Kagwe accused the doctors’ union of trying to bring the government’s effort to beat the virus down.
“I do not want to dwell much on that because I will become just like the fantasisers,” he said.
However, he did not confirm how many health workers are infected or are in quarantine after attending to Covid-19 patients.
KMPDU yesterday took issue with the government for allegedly failing to provide health care workers with necessary protective equipment thereby exposing them to great danger.
Led by chairman Dr Samuel Oroko and acting secretary general Dr Chibanzi Mwachonda, KMPDU warned that the country risks losing the fight against coronavirus which is wreaking havoc across the globe if health workers are not protected.
KMPDU wants the government to provide their members with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and ensure that they are protected in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO) standards.
Mwachonda urged the government to establish ‘holding rooms’ where health workers will be monitored to avoid putting their families in danger.
Hundreds of doctors have succumbed to the disease in China, Italy, Spain and US in the last couple of weeks.
