By: PharmAccess Foundation​

The County Government of Kisumu in partnership with Maseno University and PharmAccess have launched COVIDConnect, a new digital service that will enable residents of Kisumu County to self-check for symptoms that may be caused by the coronavirus, from the comfort and safety of their home and/ or work place.

COVIDConnect has been developed to respond to the heightened need for digital response occasioned by adherence to COVID-19 containment protocols.

The service is branded Luscii App and is available on Google Playstore and Apple Store.

To access the service, users are required to sign up and record their symptoms such as fever, cough, breathing rate, sore throat etc., after which a team of medical doctors will evaluate the user symptoms and provide them with the required medical support.

How the Luscii App works

• Download the Luscii app via Google Play Store (Android version 7 or higher) or App Store (Apple version iOS 12 or higher).
• Fill in your details as requested to register. You will receive an email with a confirmation code that will enable you to complete your registration.
• Record your symptoms on a daily basis. There are different ratings of the symptoms to indicate their severity. You are asked to fill in your symptoms.
• If need be, a team of health professionals  will analyze data on your symptoms and contact you via messaging in the app or phone call within 48 hours to provide you with the needed medical support and guidance.
• If there is no medical indication to call you, you will receive a message within 24 hours.
• You can indicate in the app if you want to be called back.
• Every morning the COVID Connect team will send users a reminder to record their symptoms.

Who can sign up to the Luscii App?

The Luscii App is currently available to all persons aged 18 years and above.

Users will need a smartphone or tablet or other mobile device with Android version 7 or higher or Apple iOS 12 or higher and an internet connection and to access the application.

The Vice-Chancellor of Maseno University, Prof. Julius Nyabundi, says, “Maseno University is pleased to be part of COVIDConnect which ensures that prompt and accurate information gets to the public to enhance home-based intervention in order to decongest our hospitals.”

Prof. Ogendo, Dean, School of Medicine at Maseno University says, “The public need for trusted information on coronavirus has become urgent since the outbreak of the pandemic. COVIDConnect seeks to provide the general public with trusted and credible advice on the disease so as to alleviate fear and anxiety”.

The application, which is provided at no cost to users is not a replacement of regular healthcare services but an additional service to expand the County’s Covid-19 response capacity.

Kisumu Governor, Anyang Nyong’o says, “The COVIDConnect service will boost our capacity for early detection of suspected cases, testing and containment so that only those who require hospital care actually go to hospitals as well as support home based care, thereby enabling the county health facilities to reserve space for potential high risk patients”.

The need for social distancing and infection prevention has necessitated new ways of accessing care without making trips to the hospital unnecessarily.

Isaiah Okoth, Country Director, PharmAccess Kenya says, “Digital innovations are revolutionizing the healthcare space. Through this digital service, users are directly connected to a dedicated medical team who will remotely monitor their symptoms and provide quality medical support. At the same time the county is enabled to digitally monitor disease prevalence and respond adequately.”

Ends

About Maseno University

Maseno University is a modern institution of higher learning set up to advance teaching, learning, research and development that responds to the emerging socio-economic as well as technological and innovation needs of Kenya and the Eastern African Region. According to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Julius Omondi Nyabundi, Maseno University has embarked on a mission to develop and deliver academic programmes that not only respond to the needs of industry but also prepare workers for the knowledge economy, in line with the Vision 2030. The programmes offered by Maseno University (referred to as ‘With IT’ programmes) ensure that all graduates of Maseno are adequately exposed to a knowledge-base that enables them to live, learn and work in a multi-disciplinary setting where ICT is as much a resource for learning and working, as it is a discipline in its own right.

About PharmAccess

PharmAccess believes in doing healthcare better. With a focus on sub-Saharan Africa, we are an international NGO that works on improving healthcare markets so that they can deliver for everyone. Our work has long focused on achieving greater health access, echoing the global call for universal health coverage, by mobilizing private and public resources, measuring and improving quality of services, and reaching even the most excluded people with financing options to pay for care.

About Luscii App

COVIDConnect Service is powered by an app designed by Luscii (based on the experience with management of hundreds of thousands of Covid-19 related cases in Europe) and currently being used in multiple countries including Ghana, Nigeria, Netherlands and Ireland.

COVIDConnect is launched with support from Achmea Foundation

Press Contacts

Maseno University

Owen MCOnyango

Public Relations

Cell: +254 722 633 230

County Government of Kisumu

Aloice Ager

Director of Communications, Office of the Governor

Cell: +254 722 285 486

PharmAccess

Felix Muvea

Communications

Cell: +254 721 236 626