Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha on Friday launched Intensive Care Unit(ICU) beds in Elgeyo Marakwet County.
The five fully kitted ICU beds have been installed at the county’s Isolation centre in Tambach.
Speaking during the launch, CS Magoha lauded Elgeyo Marakwet for its preparedness in the fight against Covid-19.
“This County has had no Covid-19 case yet you can see how prepared they are. I will tell my colleague CS Mutahi Kagwe that Iam satisfied with what I have seen,” said Magoha.
The CS said he impressed with the state of the ICU ward including the staffing and equipping of the health personnel with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
“In a special way, I want to congratulate Governor Tolgos for this wonderful effort and I will also brief His Excellency the President and tell him that there are serious counties who are heeding his directives on Covid-19 mitigation,” he said.
Prof Magoha said the County had set the pace in the region adding that he had no doubt other neighbouring counties would utilise the Elgeyo Marakwet ICU facility.
The CS also inaugurated a dedicated Ambulance that would be used at the Tambach Isolation Centre and also toured the Tambach Teachers College (TTC) to inspect its preparedness ahead of colleges phased reopening.
Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Alex Tolgos also revealed that apart from the 5 ICU beds in Tambach, 3 more will be set up at the Iten County Referral Hospital (ICRH).
He said that so far, the county has set up 201 beds and was working on setting up the requisite 300 beds by the end of July.
Governor Tolgos said his administration had allocated Sh110 million towards the fight against Covid-19.
“Most of this money has been used to procure ICU and other medical equipment that will assist in improving the level of health within the county,” he said.
The County Boss further thanked the County Assembly for agreeing to cede part of their budget and contributed Sh30 million towards the fight against the disease.
Tolgos added that the county would prioritise safety of frontline health personnel and assured them that they would be paid their allowances.
“Staff have also been trained to ensure that there is a team ready in the event that a COVID case is found within the county,” he said.