Mombasa's Covid testing machine up and running now
A nurse turns on equipment inside the High Dependency Unit at the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital in Mombasa County.
Mombasa county government has finally repaired the coronavirus testing machine that broke down almost a fortnight ago.
The breakdown hampered the county's fight against the pandemic, with striking health workers demanding that the machine be repaired.
The machine is used to test patients at Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital (CGTRH), the region’s largest hospital serving six counties.
“The machine has been repaired and it is up and running but testing will officially resume on Monday. We are currently conducting trials and we have confirmed that it is working,” said a doctor at the facility who spoke to the Nation on condition of anonymity since she is not authorized to speak to the media on the matter.
According to the county Health department, the machine broke down on last week on Friday. But sources privy to the information revealed that it developed mechanical failure five days earlier.
The county has been relying on labs at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) in Kilifi and Nairobi to test samples for the virus.
Earlier in the week a human rights group petitioned Governor Hassan Joho to repair the machine that has been instrumental in the fight against the pandemic.
The Executive Director of the Commission for Human Rights and Justice Julius Ogogoh also urged the Ministry of Health to intervene and ensure the machine is repaired, warning that its malfunction is detrimental to the fight against the pandemic.
