Pumwani Hospital to remain open for emergency cases only after 41 workers test positive for COVID-19

The Ministry of Health Director General Dr. Patrick Amoth has maintained that Pumwani Hopsital shall remain open for emergency cases. This comes in the wake of 41 of the 290 of the workers at the facility who were tested being positive for coronavirus.

There were earlier reports that the workers were on a go-slow due to lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) which had not been addressed. However, information about the 41 cases has prompted MoH to direct patients to other facilities such as Ngara, leaving Pumwani to deal with emergency cases.

“Pumwani hospital shall remain open for complicated delivery cases. In the meantime, patients can access maternal health care from the adjacent health facilities,” read the ministry’s statement in part.

However, Dr. Amoth has assured patients that the facility is safe after visiting the premises on Tuesday adding that 2 out of the 41, who were all asymptomatic, have already recovered while the 39 are undergoing medical care under home-based isolation. He also stated that the ministry will provide health workers at the facility with necessary support including protective gear.

The 41 healthcare workers are among the 429 front-line healthcare workers who were tested for the coronavirus disease.