Covid-19 Rapid Response Team Established as flood cause havoc in Kisumu

Kisumu Governor Prof. Anyang Nyong'o address the press in Kisumu today where he announced the establishment of Covid-19 Rapid Response Team in Kisumu County to coordinate issues of Corona virus-Photo By Dickson Odhiambo

 By Dickson Odhiambo

March 30,2020

Covid-19 Rapid Response Team Established as flood cause havoc in Kisumu

Kisumu Governor Prof Anyang Nyong’o has established a Rapid Response Team to deal with issues of Corona Virus pandemic.

 The team known as Covid-19 Rapid Response Team has been established at the County Department of Health and Sanitation to coordinate response activities across the county of Kisumu.

Addressing the press in Kisumu today, Governor Nyong’o said all the Covid-19 activities are coordinated by a Multi-sectorial County Response Coordination Committee co-chaired by himself and the County Commissioner Susan Waweru.

He says the move brings together actors from the National Government and non-state organizations.

He says the committee has the overall responsibility of resource mobilization for the response, public advisory/communication, implementation of the preventive measures and review of the response strategies and formulation/authorization of new strategies.

“We have since trained 433 health care providers and sensitized a further 790 across the county. Disease surveillance has been enhanced with new faces immediately reported to the County Covid-19 Rapid Response Team for necessary action,” Governor Nyong’o says.

He says the coordination has so far led to arrest and quarantine of 11 suspected cases who have had their samples taken and taken for testing, adding that the results from 10 of these cases have since returned negative.

“We have commenced procurement of Infection Prevention and Control equipment for health care workers to supplement what we have received from the National Government. 

We appreciate the fact that production of the equipment is challenged because of the worldwide demand but we must come up with ways as a country to ramp up our production capacity,” he adds.

Nyong’o says as the situation unfolds, there has been need to upscale capacity in clinical case management, adding that the County Government of Kisumu has since increased the capacity of its isolation centres.

“So far, JOOTRH has gone up by five beds to 20. We have also set up 5 beds isolation units at all the 7 sub county hospitals brining our installed capacity to 65 beds. Plans are also underway to expand the isolation centre at Kisumu County Hospital to 200 beds,” he further says.

Nyong’o adds that in the wake of the rising need for more quarantine spaces, we have prepared a 128 bed quarantine centre at KMTC, Kisumu Campus which can actually hold more should need arise.

“We have also set aside Victoria Hospital as an isolation Centre for Health Care workers in the unfortunate event of some being infected. We have also identified Sunset Hotel as an operation center for frontline Healthcare workers who will be taking care of the cases; in the unfortunate event that we end up with some cases,” he adds.

We continue to ramp up our communication with mass sms on coronavirus prevention and control currently being sent out to the general public in the County. Between today and tomorrow, we shall also be signing contracts with some of the media houses for certain targeted informercials and skits.

At the same, Nyong’o says the County is currently grappling with flooding which has affected vast areas of Muhoroni, Nyando and Nyakach Sub Counties, adding that over 2000 people displaced and housed in 5 active evacuation camps.

“We have set up a combined disaster management team consisting of the County and National Government officers. This team is already on the ground planning a response strategy. As a result of restricted movement due to Corona Virus as well as the current floods, the county is staring at imminent food insecurity. I want to appeal to our farmers to plant fast maturing and adapted traditional vegetables and crops such (cowpeas, osuga, dek, alayo, oganda), fast maturing maize varieties and sorghum,” he further says.

To address the issue of traders from the open air markets, Nyong’o has hereby directed City Planning Department, City Engineering and City Drivers to immediately report to work facilitate the transfer of our traders from the open air markets to the closed markets of Kowino, Kosawo, Nyawita and Manyatta Peace market.

ENDS: