Following the confirmation of a case of COVID-19 in the country yesterday, the Ministry wishes to update members of the public as follows:
- So far we have only ONE (1) confirmed case. The patient continues to receive care and treatment at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) Infectious Disease Unit (IDU) in a self-contained room.
- The patient is in a stable condition, with normal vital signs and is cheerful and vibrant. We thank her for taking prompt action and seeking prompt health advice. And we wish other Kenyans will follow her example
- The Ministry has traced twenty two (22) close contacts who have been quarantined at KNH Isolation Unit at Mbagathi. Specimens from these contacts are currently undergoing testing at KEMRI laboratories.
- Twenty three (23) other persons of mixed nationalities who travelled on the same flight with the patient have also been traced and advised to undertake self-quarantine for 14 days. The Ministry’s rapid response team will follow them up on a daily basis until the 14 days are over.
- The county team in conjunction with MoH has fumigated the apartment block where the patient was a resident
- We have set up two counseling centers, one in KNH and another in Mbagathi and deployed counselors who are to take care of the quarantined patients and their families.
- The Public Health Emergency Operation Centre has been fully activated to coordinate response efforts.
- A call center has been set up to enhance communication on COVID-19. Members of the public can reach the call center by dialing 719 for audio messages or *719# for short messages. This will apply across all networks.
- The Ministry of Health in partnership with County Governments, Kenya Red Cross, AMREF, WHO, World Bank, KEPSA, UoN, Kenya Health Federation and other stakeholders has engaged community health volunteers across the country to support awareness creation on COVID-19.
- On Monday, The business community will come in with a compact intervention to address issues that will deal with the COVID-19
The Ministry continues to maintain heightened surveillance at all points of entry, health facilities and communities across the country. We urge members of the public to remain vigilant and are advised to continue taking the following precautionary measures as advised;
- Maintain basic hand hygiene, and safe food practices. Basic hand hygiene begins with hand washing.
- Avoid close contact with people who are coughing and have flu like symptoms
- In addition, anyone showing symptoms of chest infection illness such as fever, coughing, difficulty in breathing and sneezing with a history of travel to go to the nearest health facility for assessment and prompt management.
- In addition, anyone with recent history of travel to the affected countries are strongly advised to self- quarantine for 14 days and promptly report to the nearest health facility in case they develop any of the above and in the event they develop any illness they can call the above number for further direction.
We have taken note of videos doing the rounds on social media with fake information which are aimed at misinforming and causing unnecessary panic to the public. We wish to inform the public not to consume information that has not come from official government communication channels [@MOH_Kenya and @SpokespersonGoK]. The fake and alarming videos have been forwarded to Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for investigations, arrest and prosecution of such individuals.
As I conclude I would like to assure the public that the Government is doing everything possible to manage the situation. I therefore urge everyone NOT to panic and observe the preventive measures outlined by the Ministry.
