Kenyan nurses at coronavirus ward begin go-slow protest

Kenyan nurses at a coronavirus isolation ward have started a go-slow to protest against lack of protective gear and poor training.

Mbagathi hospital in the capital, Nairobi, is one of the facilities with isolation wards for treatment of patients infected with the virus.

The Kenya National Union of Nurses Secretary General Seth Panyako has told the BBC that the nurses will only report back to work after training on how to handle patients and provision of protective gear.

"Nurses are the most exposed workers in hospitals. With no protective equipment gear how are they supposed to protect themselves at the workplace and their families too when they go back home?," Mr Panyako questioned.

The hospital is holding 22 people who came into contact with the first confirmed case, according to the Daily Nation newspaper.

Two of the contacts, who tested positive, have since been moved to Kenyatta National Hospital - the country's top referral hospital - where the first confirmed patient is being treated.