Five Kenyans have found themselves in forced quarantine after they jetted back into the country on May 4, 2020, despite signing Coronavirus self-quarantine declaration forms.
Taking to social media on the night of Friday, May 8, 2020, Dr Mercy Korir shared disturbing messages from the five, revealing the tough conditions they had endured while in quarantine at St Georges Girls High School.
The group was screened and tested in France prior to their departure, and expected to self-quarantine, however, they ended up in a dormitory with no food and drinking water, and had been asked to foot their expenses.
"Hi, Dr Mercy, we are in a group of five seamen who came back from Marseille France through London to Nairobi on May 4, we are quarantined at st Georges Girls so today morning till now, we haven't been served any meals with the administration claiming we should pay Ksh 28,000 per person, can you please intervene. They even refused we buy food online to be delivered to the school," their message read in part.
"On May 5, they gave us breakfast lunch and supper. May 6, no breakfast, no lunch until someone from the ministry intervened then we were served all meals of the day, today no meals all day.
"Minutes ago one of the cooks came with a message from the principal saying from tomorrow we will be served all meals of the day to the end of our quarantine then settle all the money owed to them," the message read, further raising questions on the government's promise to foot the bills.
Health CS Mutahi Kagwe on Wednesday, May 6, announced the waiver of quarantine fees in government isolation facilities a bid to encourage the public to show up for mass Covid-19 testing.
"The government has also said that the cost of targeting testing and quarantine of government quarantine facilities shall be met by the government.
"Kenyans should therefore forthwith not be afraid. Let me repeat that, effective today government quarantine facilities will be occupied by those told to do so by the Ministry of Health and will be quarantined at the facilities free of charge.
"This is to facilitate those who may feel that they do not want to go for testing because of the cost of quarantine. That is no longer the case," Kagwe had stated, noting that Kenyans had rejected mass testing, holding reservations over the high fees charged in the facilities.
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