Kilifi disputes ministry's Covid-19 report citing Kemri backlog

Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi

Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi during the opening of the Covid-19 Medical Complex in Kilifi town on May 6, 2020.
 

Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation Media Group

Kilifi County has disputed the Covid-19 results announced by the Ministry of Health on Friday, in which it overtook Nairobi to record the highest number of infections.

The ministry announced that Kilifi recorded 224 new infections within  24 hours.

In an interview with Nation, however, the county's Health executive, Charles Dadu, said that number was not from tests conducted within 24 hours.

“We were supposed to record 62 cases on Friday, from a sample of 332 that we submitted to Kemri on July 16. A hundred and sixty two extra results have been added to the daily report,” he said.

Mr Dadu attributed this to a backlog at the Kenya Medical Research Institute in Kilifi, which is conducting the testing.

“The figure is not a reflection of the correct situation. There is a problem with Kemri. After the second wave, they said they wanted to go back to their main work, which is research, meaning they were not actively conducting Covid-19 tests,” he said.

He added that the institution’s testing capacity declined so for every 60 samples presented to them, only 10 to 20 are tested, meaning results for the remaining samples are never released on time.

“They do not conduct testing for our samples every day. They keep them, but on a good day they test all of them to ease the backlog.”

Clarification needed

Mr Dadu further said that some of the Covid-19 patients whose results were among Friday’s had already recovered.

He said the department will hold a meeting with Kemri on Monday to establish the facts.

“We need a clarification … to know when the samples were submitted to the Kemri laboratory. It is not true that the figures were from samples tested within 24 hours. They could be cumulative - for over 48 hours or more.”

A July 16 report by Kilifi County says samples were collected between June 27 and July 15. 

As at July 14, the report seen by the Nation says, 4,508 cases had been recorded, from a sample of  28,763 analysed since the pandemic first struck the country in March 2020. Thus far, the county has recorded 24, 255 negative test results.

The number of active cases was 237, with 129 of the patients being under home-based isolation and care.

The report also says 70 people from Kilifi have succumbed to Covid-19 so far, 32 of them within its borders and 38 elsewhere.

“We have had several deaths, with the majority resulting from underlying conditions,” Mr Dadu said.

Virus strains

Mr Duda also said Kemri is conducting research on several strains of the coronavirus.

“Kemri is doing research to establish the variants in Sokoni, Tezo and Mnarani wards. When we look at the distribution of the positive cases announced on Friday, 180 out of the 224 are from these areas, meaning the majority are from research,” he said.

He called on the government to establish counties’ correct status.

“We may also be under-reporting because only a few counties are testing from a surveillance perspective. The issue of testing should be addressed urgently,” he said.

The official admitted, however, that the county’s Covid-19 outlook is not good.

“We used to have only two patients on oxygen but now out of 10 patients, six are on oxygen,” he said