When Jane* turned positive for Covid-19, she was frightened of being isolated in a public health facility.
Together with her spouse, they hatched a plan to convince the county health department to enrol her into home based care.
When medics visited her one bedroomed home in Mombasa West to ascertain whether she is qualified for home-based care, she hid her four children including a two-year-old in her neighbours’ house. Her husband was away at work.
The medics gave her the green light to self- isolate. However, she has been exposing her children to the virus.
“Luckily for her, she is asymptomatic. She begged me to hide her children in my house and lied that her husband had travelled upcountry. That is how she fooled the medics. But she is putting the life of her children at risk as they are living recklessly as if she is not positive,” the neighbour said.
She added that none of the family members wears face masks and Jane mingles freely with them. The neighbour later alerted community health volunteers who took the children to a relative after they were tested and turned negative. In Kisauni, Halima* lied to the medics that she is a widow.
“She said she lives alone with a helper who comes daily to cook for her. But a week later, I saw children in the house. I asked the neighbours and was told she lives with her husband and seven children,” a community health volunteer disclosed and wondered: “Why would someone do this? Do people know this disease can wipe out an entire family?”
County chief public health officer Aisha Abubakar acknowledged that the department has recorded such incidents where patients give wrong information in order to qualify for home -based care while exposing their families to the virus.
“When you assess the house, you find that everything is okay only to realise you’ve been duped. We are now working closely with village elders, Nyumba Kumi officials and chiefs to out such people,” said Ms Abubakar, adding that said of them are ineligible for the programme.
“Why play cat and mouse games on a serious matter? We must join hands to fight this pandemic. I urge neighbours against being used to hide children of patients. We will take action against such individuals,” said Ms Abubakar.
To qualify for home-based care, one must be asymptomatic and shouldn’t have any underlying health condition or a family member with the same.
One must have a separate room for 14-day isolation. Medics call the patients every day to check on their status or any developed symptoms. After 14 days, the patient is re-tested to ascertain whether he or she is free from the virus.
