Government Orders Mandatory Covid-19 Testing for All Kenyans Seeking Admission in Hospitals

Kenyans seeking treatment in various health facilities around the country will henceforth be required to undergo mandatory Covid-19 testing before they are admitted, the Health Ministry has said.

The move is aimed at protecting frontline healthcare workers and patients admitted in hospitals from contracting the Covid-19 disease, according to Heath Director-General Dr. Patrick Amoth.

“It is likely that when an asymptomatic case is admitted to the hospital, they may spread the virus to the healthcare workers or other patients in the ward, we need to be able to protect those people,” Dr. Amoth said.

“Before you are admitted to hospital, one of the tests that you will have to undergo will be a Covid-19 test, this will protect frontline health workers and other patients whose immune system may be compromised,” he added.

As a result, the ministry will supply Covid-19 test kits to all hospitals offering in-patient services across the country, including private facilities.

“These test-kits will be distributed in a stepwise manner to ensure that this requirement will not be used as a basis of denying Kenyans treatment for other conditions,” Amoth noted.

The ministry made the decision after a 33-year-old patient who was undergoing treatment for other ailments died of Covid-19 at a hospital on Monday, May 11th. The patient was only diagnosed with Covid-19 after passing away.

Last week, the ministry announced that 34 health workers had been infected with the virus in the line of duty.