The confirmation of coronavirus in Kenya on Friday exposed the hits and misses that Kenya has had in preparing for how to handle the disease.
Just two weeks ago, the revelation that there were still flights into the country caused an uproar on the lackluster manner in which the government was handling the condition.
An airline employee who had sounded the alarm was suspended, creating even more fury over the government’s dedication and preparedness on dealing with the pandemic. Government Spokesman Cyrus Oguna gave an assurance that the Ministry of Health had trained several teams in level five hospitals.
He said they had intensified screening at various entry points, and anyone coming from areas with high infections had to get a clearance certificate before being allowed into a plane to Kenya.
A court order said the people who were aboard the plane that landed in Kenya should be quarantined, but there has not been a report on whether they were traced and put on quarantine.
There have been sporadic reports of people being suspected of having coronavirus in Kenya in the past, but results have always turned out negative.
Tested patients
“Anytime there is a suspected case, we do what we can to get the patients tested and only allow them to leave when we have established that they do not have the coronavirus,” said Oguna in a past interview.
On February 28, President Uhuru Kenyatta issued an executive order for the prevention of the virus and disbanded the original team formed to prepare for the disease. He ordered for the completion of an isolation and treatment facility at Mbagathi within seven days, and the facility was recently launched.
The President also established the National Response Committee on coronavirus, among other changes that were meant to prepare the country for coronavirus.
“There is demonstrable and compelling public interest in further up-scaling Kenya’s level of preparedness and capacity to prevent, respond to and contain this emerging global threat,” he said. The government had promised to do many campaigns to educate and inform people on how the disease spreads. A section of people however say they are clueless on what they are supposed to do, apart from washing their hands.
“I wonder what I am supposed to do during the self-quarantine,” said Maria Ngunje, a teacher.