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Oliver Musembi and Njange Maina

Thika level 5 hospital which has suffered the brunt of Covid-19 with the recent death of a senior doctor has got a shot in the arm following the donation of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) from Equity Bank.

The equipment valued Sh 8 million was handed over by Equity Chief Operating Officer Policarp Igathe to Kiambu Deputy Governor Joyce Ngugi on behalf of the hospital management.

The facility suffered a blow last week when the Deputy Medical Superintendent Dr Jackline Njoroge succumbed to the virus while undergoing treatment at Kenyatta University Teaching Research and Referral Hospital. Dr.Njoroge is among the senior doctors whose deaths sparked fresh protests from the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union(KMPDU)

Igathe said the PPEs which were manufactured locally are a major achievement in saving medical staff from infection while handling patients and appealed to medics not to give up hope despite working under harsh conditions.

“We understand the hardships and the challenging conditions our health staff are facing and beseech you not to despair as you are the only hope for our patients,” Igathe said.

The official said Equity Bank has funded local enterprises to the tune of Sh1.2 billion towards the manufacture of PPEs, masks and other protective gear to check the spread of Covid-19.

Ms Ngugi became emotional and shed tears while imploring hospital staff to persevere and not abandon their patients under the threat of getting infected.

“The reality has hit us that Covid-19 is real and Kenyans must follow laid down guidelines to avoid infection,” said the DG and added that the stigma associated with Covid infections was doing a lot of harm in war against the virus.

County Executive Member for Health Dr Joseph Murega said Kiambu has so far recorded about 5,300 Coronavirus cases and slightly less than 100 are admitted in various hospitals including 50 at the Tigoni isolation center.

Additional Reporting by Njange Maina