Panic in Mombasa hospitals as a student who travelled from China put in isolation
By Fred Kai
Panic has engulfed medics in two hospitals in Mombasa following a suspected case of Coronavirus disease.
The case involves a Kenyan medical student Shukri Jamal Mahmood who arrived in the country on January 30, 2020, from China.
The patient was handled at the Mombasa Hospital, a private facility before she was moved to the Coast Provincial General Hospital (CPGH) on Friday.
Now all the medics at the two hospitals have been put on high alert.
Doctors and other health workers at the facilities who handled the suspected case have been asked to report any unusual condition in their bodies as the hospital awaits results on the patient's sample.
Mombasa County Chief Officer, Dr. Khadija Shikely, said the 22-year-old Jamal, is a medical student from Guangzhou, Southern Medical University.
Dr. Shikely said the student is currently isolated in a private room at the hospital's Rehemtullah ward.
She came through Nairobi on a flight that touched down at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on January 30 at 6 am.
The female student from Senti Kumi area in Likoni arrived from China and was seen at Mombasa hospital on January 31.
"She started feeling unwell while in China, she complained of chest pain and difficulty breathing, we are monitoring her keenly awaiting the blood samples analysis," she said.
The doctor said the case has not been confirmed to be Coronavirus and reports on social media are inaccurate.
"We have sent the blood samples to the Medical Officer of Health in Nairobi for screening to ascertain where it is the virus or what disease could it be. The patient is under strict isolation because we are not taking any chances," she added.
A doctor who is attending to her at CPGH said she is in stable condition awaiting the laboratory test results for the blood samples taken to Kenyatta National Hospital for analysis.
“We are attending to her as a special patient; nobody is allowed to visit her except the nurses who are attending to her. She is progressing well. Even her temperatures are just reading normal,” said the doctor who is not allowed to speak to the media.
Spot-check by People Daily at the private wing of the hospital yesterday established that the entrance has been locked and a security guard under strict instructions not to allow anyone near the area.
“She was brought here on Friday and no other patient except her alone,” said the doctor.
