UPDATE 10:22: Pumwani maternity hospital has requested its staff to contribute money to their collegues who tested positive for covid-19.
A memo signed by the hospital's administrator, Nelly Induli, stated; "We kindly request for your support in cash and kind towards our fellow colleagues who have tested positive of COVID-19. Kindly send in your support through your unit in or charges."
The request was not taken well by some of the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) officials who stated that there was a kitty for health workers welfare who actually fall victim in the line of duty.
UPDATE: 19 more staffers at Pumwani Hospital tested positive for Coronavirus, bring the latest tally to 41.
While addressing the media on Tuesday, July 14, Health Director-General (DG) Patrick Amoth went on to reveal that of the 41 confirmed cases, 19 are healthcare workers while 22 are support staff.
In his latest briefing, the DG stated that 3 mothers have been exposed to the virus, however, no children have been identified as being part of the contact list of the 41 health care workers who have tested positive for the virus.
239 staffers are employed at the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, but according to the latest report, the health facility is currently operating with 100 workers.
DG Amoth was quick to point out that the hospital has been deemed safe to continue its operations, with special isolation centres already set up for the 41 new cases.
A total of 22 health workers at the Pumwani Maternity Hospital were on Monday, July 13, confirmed to have tested positive for Covid-19.
Speaking during the Monday Covid-19 briefing, Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Mutahi Kagwe, allayed fears regarding a possible outbreak at the health centre.
"One of the crucial aspects of the management of Covid-19 is contact tracing. Initially, we were using telephone calls and now we have web tracing which is much more effective," he announced after confirming the Pumwani cases.
He further revealed that a targeted mass testing exercise carried out at the hospital was how the 22 were identified and placed under isolation soon after.
News first broke on social media platforms over the weekend, with a video of the Kenya National Union of Nurses Nairobi County Chair Boaz Onchari going viral on Sunday, July 12.
In the video, Onchari claimed that 15 of the nurses at Pumwani Maternity Hospital who had tested positive for Covid-19 were asymptomatic.
The number of cases of the disease in Kenya has continued to register a worrying rise every day, raising concerns about the consequences of President Uhuru Kenyatta's decision to end the cessation of movement order that affected hotspot counties including Nairobi and Mombasa.
However, he maintained that MoH was equipped to protect the health workers stationed at the frontlines in the war against the pandemic, and categorically denied assertions that some health facilities in Nairobi County were suffering a shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs).
He further stated that his office had not received any information from the management of hospitals in Nairobi regarding a shortage of PPEs.
Watch Nairobi County's Nurses Head speaking at Pumwani Hospital below:
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