The Ministry of Health on Wednesday, June 10, launched the home-based and isolation care guidelines for Covid-19 patients.
While addressing a press conference at Afya House, Health CAS Rashid Aman noted that there was no need for asymptomatic patients to take up resources in hospitals as 78 percent of the current patients in the facilities were either mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic.
"Due to our rising numbers of Covid-19 cases, it is increasingly becoming untenable to isolate all patients in our health facilities for management and treatment. There are those who do not need specialised treatment. For them, home care will help in offloading and freeing up our health workers to deal with urgent cases," Aman noted.
CAS Aman stated that implementation would begin immediately adding that members of the family would be properly trained as home caregivers and equipped with the new guidelines.
He conveyed that home care would also aid in minimising transmission in the community setting.
The move will make Kenya among the first country in Africa implementing home-based cared after Nigeria and Ghana.
CAS Aman disclosed that the guidelines highlighted factors to be considered including eligibility, care procedures, and medical monitoring, referral systems and community participation.
"The implementation of the guidelines will be done under the supervision of medical and public health officials.
"Community health volunteers will be involved in the daily monitoring of patients' progress and will be the key link between health officials and households," he explained.
Home-based care in informal settlements where households share small spaces will require identification of institutions within the community that meet the guidelines for the care.
"We are working to identify such institutions and we shall be drawing upon the Nyumba Kumi Initiative to help in the exercise," Aman stated.
Among the recommendations by the Ministry of Health is for the patient to be placed in a well-ventilated room with limited movement in the house and minimised shared space.
The caregivers should also be limited to one individual while visitors should not be allowed until the patient has completely recovered.
