Why Kakuma is an emerging Covid-19 hotspot
An aerial view of Kakuma Refugee Camp in Turkana West Sub-County.
What you need to know:
- In the daily Covid-19 briefing in Nairobi, Health Chief Administrative Secretary Rashid Aman announced that 33 out of 34 new Covid-19 cases for Turkana County were from the refugee camp, with some being new arrivals.
- Despite the surging numbers, the county and national governments, as well as all partners working with UNHCR, have adopted a reliable approach to contain the spread of the disease.
The United Nations refugee agency has attributed the surging number of Covid-19 cases at Kakuma refugee camp to more elaborate testing of all new arrivals and growing congestion.
Turkana West Sub-County, where the refugee camp is located, had a total of 208 cases before a sudden spike in infections on Tuesday.
In the daily Covid-19 briefing in Nairobi, Health Chief Administrative Secretary Rashid Aman announced that 33 out of 34 new Covid-19 cases for Turkana County were from the refugee camp, with some being new arrivals.
Ms Eujin Byun, the spokesperson of the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) Kenya, reckons that the reason for this trend is congestion due to limited space, as well as most confirmed cases being asymptomatic, leading to greater spread.
Despite the surging numbers, the county and national governments, as well as all partners working with UNHCR, have adopted a reliable approach to contain the spread of the disease.
"It is good news that all new Covid-19 cases from the refugee camp are from samples collected from people at our quarantine facilities whom health personnel had identified as primary contacts. Once confirmed positive, they are isolated for treatment and management. Currently 142 refugees have recovered fully," UNHCR official told the Nation.
She noted that all new arrivals and any person visiting the camp from Nairobi must be subjected to a mandatory quarantine of 14 days and be confirmed negative before being allowed to stay in the camp.
Targeted testing is being carried out on high risk groups like shopkeepers, traders and those directly involved in food distribution.
A total of 200 samples are collected for testing every week.
"To fully contain the spread of the disease we target to test all the 200,000 refugees but that goal is slowed down by lack of testing capacity, which not just a countrywide problem but also a global challenge. Kakuma should be a Covid-19 testing center,” said Ms Byun.
Preventive measures
UNHCR has enhanced public awareness of Covid-19 prevention through community health promoters within the camp and nearby host communities to ensure they adhere to all preventive measures issued by the ministry of health.
Authorities in the county last week confirmed that all the four patients who have died of Covid-19 since the first case was reported in May are refugees.
Deputy Governor Peter Lotethiro who doubles up as the chairman of the County Covid-19 Response Team reiterated that the county government and UNHCR are prioritising establishment of a test centre at Kakuma so that many people undergo tests to determine the spread of the disease before it explodes to other parts of the county.
He noted that Lodwar GK Prison that was also responsible for the increasing number of coronavirus cases is now a Covid-19 free zone.
This is after a total of 23 inmates at the prison who had tested positive for Covid-19 were discharged from Kanam Kemer Sub County Hospital isolation centre after a successful recovery.
The county is still relying on Kenya Medical Research Institute in Kisumu, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret and Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Nairobi for testing.
The recent relaxation of Covid-19 containment measures that included opening of bars and the planned reopening of schools is expected to reverse planned gains and efforts to tackle the spread of the disease in Kakuma.
