Irene Githinji @gitshee

Samples from a suspected coronavirus patient admitted at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) have been dispatched to South Africa for  further laboratory analysis, the government said yesterday.

Outgoing Health Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki said the patient will remain in isolation at KNH as government waits for feedback of samples for a second opinion.

However, she said the fact that samples were sent to South Africa should not be misconstrued to mean that Kenya does not have the capacity, adding that  the results obtained there will be mirrored with those from Influenza centre for purposes of safety.

Further analysis

“Samples of the suspected case currently in isolation have been sent to South Africa for further analysis to have a clear guideline on how we can move on once we established that our results are correct,” said the CS, who spoke from Afya House.

The CS  said all passengers disembarking at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) will have to undergo screening for coronavirus.

This was part of the raft of measures the Cabinet debated and adopted as part of curbing spread of coronavirus in the country

The Cabinet directed Ministries of Health and Transport to institute special measures to manage movement of those transiting through Kenya from affected regions.

Kariuki urged Kenyans to remain vigilant and urged those who have travelled to China in the last two weeks to present themselves to the nearest health facility to be checked for coronavirus.

She said the incubation period for the coronavirus is two weeks hence the need for urgent assessment, just to be sure they did not contract the disease.

 “Our systems are working and we have capacity and infrastructure to fight coronavirus. We are stepping up awareness to be able to detect when the symptoms of the disease exhibit and what to do.

A decision has been reached that all passengers disembarking will be taken through screening, whether from China or any other country,” the CS said.

Kariuki urged Kenyans to limit travel overseas unless for “very essential” reasons, adding that a World Health Organisation (WHO) emergency meeting happening in Geneva will also advise on the way forward.

Meanwhile,  Kariuki  directed the newly inaugurated Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council, now chaired by Eva Njenga, to regulate provision of health services from both public and private institutions.

Joint inspections

She said the mandate of the council goes a long way in delivering Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and urged members to work with other regulatory authorities to conduct joint inspections to establish quality of care in all health facilities, with focus on infrastructure, human resource for health and clinical governance.

The CS directed the council to accredit institutions to offer specialised services  to mitigate referral of patients abroad, saying about Sh8 billion a year is exported by way of patients going to seek specialised treatment.