Revealed: It Costs Sh1 Million to Treat One Covid-19 Patient in Kenya

It costs about Sh1 million to treat a single Covid-19 patient in Kenya, the Health Ministry has revealed.

The bill comprises protective gear worn by doctors and nurses, food, medicine, hospital bed and other services provided to patients during their stay in hospital.

For example, the cost of one personal protective equipment (PPE) kit is about Sh20,000 and it is used for a single session per patient, according to Health Principal Secretary Susan Mochache.

Each time the doctor visits a patient, the protective gear they use is discarded. A doctor could visit a patient several times in a day, meaning one patient could use PPE kits worth between Sh100,000 and Sh140,000 daily.

If the patient is admitted at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), they are charged Sh4,000 per night for a bed in the isolation ward. This, coupled with charges on food, medicine, and other services increases the bill further.

The cost of treatment is higher for patients who experience complications.

Dr. Samuel Njenga, an infectious disease expert at KNH told Daily Nation that the hospital bill for Kenya’s first Covid-19 patient Brenda Ivy Cherotich, who spent three weeks at the facility, was Sh800,000 while that of the third patient, Brian Orinda was Sh490,000. The two were pronounced fully recovered on April 2nd.