Four doctors in Kenya and 17 patients succumbed to COVID-19 on Friday. The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) says in the East African nation has lost eight doctors since Friday.
By Friday, this week the country’s health ministry indicated that since the coronavirus pandemic was first reported in Kenya in March, 23 healthcare workers have lost their lives.
2/3. Condolences to the families of
Dr. Faith Mbuba
Dr. Jacky Njoroge
Dr. Hudson Alumera
Dr. Emarah Ashraf
You gave your all; even your own lives to save others. @MOH_Kenya honors you even as we try to ensure that all frontline officers are fully equipped.— Dr. Patrick Amoth (@DrPatrickAmoth) November 14, 2020
Doctors in various parts of the country have held several strikes demanding quality Personal Protective Equipment, Comprehensive medical insurance for frontline health workers and an enhancement of their risk allowance.
Confirming the deaths of the doctors. Acting Director General for Health Dr. Patrick Amoth said in a tweet, that his heart was heavy following the death of four of his colleagues.
He added that “for a country that barely has enough healthcare workers, four is too many a loss especially in the midst of such a crisis.”
1/3. Today my heart is heavy having lost four colleagues to Covid-19 in the last 24 hrs. For a country that barely has enough healthcare workers, 4 is too many a loss especially midst such a crisis.
— Dr. Patrick Amoth (@DrPatrickAmoth) November 14, 2020
Kenya has 69,273 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 1,249 fatalities according to data from the health ministry.
Union officials said they are holding consultations on the way forward following these latest deaths.
Over 1.9 million confirmed #COVID19 cases on the African continent – with more than 1.6 million recoveries & 46,000 deaths cumulatively.
View country figures & more with the WHO African Region COVID-19 Dashboard: https://t.co/FKav40Cbdd pic.twitter.com/A1iXeUWFag
— WHO African Region (@WHOAFRO) November 14, 2020
COVID-19 graft sparks relentless protests across many cities:
