The County Government of Wajir has allayed fears that the suspected coronavirus case recorded in the county had turned out negative.
The county director of communications Ahmed Abdi Hussein told Kenyans.co.ke on Friday, March 20, that the county had concluded that the suspected case was not of Covid-19 but was a flu, and had released the patient.
"The patient was discharged and advised to undertake self-quarantine for fourteen days. He is actually the one who reported himself when he experienced the symptoms.
"He called the hotline number. He's is very careful. He had even quarantined his family two days earlier when he thought that he had what was a suspected Coronavirus case," the communications director informed.
The news about the suspected case first became public when information began doing rounds online that a suspected case of the Covid-19 virus had been detected in the county.
This forced the county to issue a statement to allay the residents' fears and to shed light on the status of the patient recuperating at Wajir County Referral Hospital.
"Earlier this morning at around 3.a.m., a 40-year-old male called Wajir County emergency hotlines complaining of chest pains and fever.
"The patient was attended to by specially trained staff on Covid-19 and is currently isolated at Wajir County Referral Hospital," the statement read in part.
In the communication, the county clarified that while the victim exhibited high fever and was complaining of chest pains, he did not meet the case definition set out by the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO).
For this reason, the county officials explained that they had to release him but that they remained on high alert to combat any cases that may arise.
"We will continue monitoring the situation in the county and ask for the public to cooperate and maintain high levels of hygiene," the statement concluded.
