And it's those rapidly increasing numbers that led the KHMH to go into emergency mode on Saturday. This means that all Elective surgeries, specialist clinics and visitation has been cancelled until further notice. Only drop off of items at 9am, 2pm, or 6pm will be allowed.
The hospital has also activated phase 3 of their response to the COVID 19 pandemic, meaning it has become necessary for additional space to be activated inside the facility for management of critical patients.
The chairman of the KHMH board, Dr Andre Sosa, told us more.
Dr. Andre Sosa, Chairman, KHMH
"We have seen an increase in the numbers from probably around the 30th to the 31st August and that increase our admissions to a rate of about 4-7 persons per day and what that has meant is that on a average we would have 23-25 persons admitted in the covid ward. Because of that situation, and because that is our maximum number, our maximum capacity for covid patients we have seen it prudent to restrict admissions for other areas of the hospital. Both to enable us to conserve resources, supplies, which are usually in short in terms of availability, but also to be able to move personnel around to be able to take up the slack."
"We still need to contend with the many instances of violence where it be road traffic accidents, gunshot wounds, machete wounds and the host of other different illnesses or disease conditions that bring patients to a hospital."
"We can't turn away people who need those services, but it means that there is a decrease in the number of people available to provide those services, it means that our staff becomes far more stressed in terms of the hours that they are working and so what we have sought to do with the release is to divert as much as is possible patients to other facilities whether they are from the districts, whether they are able to go to the private institutions, or whether the problems are of a nature that can be handled in the polyclinics, etc."
