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Coronavirus: Six quarantined Chinese given clean bill of health

Wednesday, March 4th, 2020 15:27 | By

By Brenda Mwende

Six Chinese nationals, who were quarantined in Mutomo in Kitui South, do not pose any health threat, county health official has said.

Kitui Chief Officer for Health and Sanitation Dr Richard Muthoka said tests done on the six men have shown that they do not suffer from the deadly coronavirus.

The employees of Sinohydro Corporation, a Chinese civil and structural engineering firm constructing the Kibwezi-Mutomo-Kitui road, were isolated after jetting into the country from China on different dates in February 2020.

Dr Muthoka spoke when he visited the road contractor’s Mutomo campsite to see how the isolated Chinese workers were doing.

He, however, maintained that they will only be allowed to interact with members of the public after each of them completes 21 days in isolation.

“Coronavirus incubation period is 14 days according to WHO but there is a presidential directive requiring that everyone getting into the country from China must be quarantined for 21 days as a precautionary measure,” explained the chief officer.

He added that he had dispatched a surveillance team headed by Mutomo Sub-county medical officer Paul Kibati to closely and consistently monitor the quarantined Chinese staff until the 21-day isolation period elapses.

He was accompanied by Sinohydro Corporation’s Chief Engineer Zeng Yun who declined to address the press for fear of reprisal from his bosses.

On February 17, mass panic gripped Kitui residents following speculations that a Chinese national had been put into isolation after developing coronavirus-like symptoms but authorities later declared it as a false alarm.

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