The Ministry of Health is facing accusations of not giving out the correct number of victims who have succumbed to Covid-19. According to the ministry, only 12 people have succumbed to Covid-19 as of Saturday, April 18.
According to information from private hospitals, the figures could be more than that as they have reportedly registering deaths due to acute respiratory distress, one of the symptoms of Covid-19.
For the apparent fear of facing government consequences, these said private hospitals did not declare the cause of death as Covid-19 since they were not registered as Covid-19 centres.
Before the country announced the first Covid-19 patient on March 12, 2020, there were reports of an unusually high number of deaths of pneumonia patients which the Ministry of Health never addressed.
Between March 3, and March 22, a number of children lost their lives to what was termed as pneumonia but the speed to which they lost their lives left parents and healthcare workers at Mnarani, Kilifi County with more questions than answers.
In an interview with The Standard, Opollo Zacharia, 27, who lost his one-year-old daughter Justice Miriam Ndede said that on the March 3, his daughter fell sick for about 20 hours only.
''My daughter developed difficulty in breathing, a fever, weakness and a dry mild cough. Únfortunately my Miriam did not make it as succumbed at the Malindi Sub-County Hospital where I had rushed her for further medical check-ups and treatment,'' a report on her death indicated that Miriam died due to pneumonia.
According to an infectious disease expert at the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital who sought anonymity, the numbers could be more and worse since private hospitals which are easily accessible to most Kenyans fear to declare death from acute syndromes as Covid-19 deaths.
''It is okay for the Ministry of Health to be only one's declaring deaths from Covid-19 but their approach is creating fear amongst medics who are dealing with these cases. This, in turn, puts them at a risk together with the wider society as they may be walking around infecting people unknowingly.''
Another thing that the doctor faulted was the method used in taking samples from patients terming them as not being so accurate.
''As we have seen in other countries, nose swabs are not effective in detecting the virus as their accuracy levels are at 63%, the most effective way of virus detection is by taking samples from bronchoalveolar, our medics should be trained on this in order to avert a crisis.''
There are two main types of Covid-19 tests. Swab tests, which usually take a sample from the throat or nose, to detect viral RNA. These determine if you currently have Covid-19.
Blood tests, which detect antibodies, can determine if you have had Covid-19, and are therefore immune to contracting the virus.
No test is 100% accurate. Although tests can perform well in ideal laboratory conditions, in real life many other factors affect accuracy including the timing of the test, how the swab was taken, and the handling of the specimen.
