Homa Bay has reported its first case of the deadly coronavirus – a 26-year-old driver who sneaked mourners into the county from Nairobi on Tuesday.
Earlier this week, the Health ministry announced that a patient from Homa Bay had tested positive for Covid-19 but Governor Cyprian Awiti said the person lived in Nairobi.
In his daily briefing on Saturday, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe confirmed a case of the virus in the county, saying the 26-year-old drove a group of people there for a funeral.
He said suspicious security officers in Homa Bay checked a coffin atop the vehicle and found it empty and that what followed was the quarantining of the group for testing.
The driver’s sample returned a positive result, CS Kagwe told the country, while announcing that the number of confirmed cases in Kenya had risen to 262.
Health and security officers were on Saturday evening racing to trace the other people the man came into contact with.
County Health Executive, Prof Richard Muga, said a family hired the driver to take them home for a burial
Prof Muga said a team of medical officers was following up on those who attended the funeral on Wednesday at a home in Seka Kamser, Rachuonyo North Sub-county.
He said they were also looking for the relatives who were at home when the hired driver arrived.
By Saturday evening, eight family members had been quarantined at the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) in Homa Bay.
Prof Muga said the driver hails from Kakamega County but lives in Mathare, Nairobi County.
He and his passengers reportedly left Nairobi on Tuesday morning and used a document they claimed was from Mama Lucy Hospital to make it through security checks.
The document showed they were carrying a body for a burial.
The family bought the coffin during the trip and placed it on top of the hired car.
“The fake permit allowed them past several road blocks. They were checked when they got out of Nairobi and at several other road blocks, including one in Kisumu and another at Nyakwere in Homa Bay,” Prof Muga said.
He said they were also checked for coronavirus symptoms and were interviewed briefly but that there was nothing alarming.
The family reached its destination on Tuesday evening but some villagers questioned their peculiar behaviour.
It also emerged that the body was at Gendia Mission Hospital yet the permit showed it was from Mama Lucy.
“A team of security officers and health workers, who got the information, wasted no time. They quickly moved to the home and forced the family into quarantine,” Prof Muga said.
Samples were collected and tested at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) in Kisumu, with one returning a positive result.
The patient was placed in the Malela isolation unit in Ndhiwa Sub-county.
“Our team of professionals are looking after him,” Prof Muga said, adding he was “fine”.
It is expected that the travellers will be charged after quarantine.
The vehicle in which they travelled was impounded and taken to Kendu Bay police station. Its owner will also be taken to court.
By Daily Nation.
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