Deputy President William Ruto on Tuesday, November 17, called for students to be insured by the Government ahead of the January 2021 school reopening.
Ruto urged the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) to extend its services to students and also lauded the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) for insuring its members.
"We commend TSC for including Covid-19 insurance cover for its members. NHIF should emulate TSC by extending a similar cover to its members, especially students who are set to resume school.
"All available resources should be mobilized to enable NHIF to meet this obligation," noted the Deputy President.
This, however, comes after Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe stated that it is not financially viable for NHIF to cover the bills for Covid-19.
Kagwe argued that the cost burden of financing Covid-19 testing and treatment for NHIF beneficiaries would not be financially viable since it was not envisaged in the current NHIF premium computation.
Teachers Service Commission (TSC) CEO Nancy Macharia on Monday directed all 337,000 teachers to receive full medical cover under the commission's scheme for Covid-19 related ailments.
"Cognisant of the important role teachers are playing as we grapple with this pandemic, I wish to announce that TSC has negotiated a medical insurance for them to be covered for all Covid-19 related illnesses," she said.
Ruto has been calling for the government to channel its resources towards fighting the Covid-19 pandemic after a surge in cases.
An alarming number of students have been testing positive for Covid-19 most notably in Marafa Secondary School and Kabarnet High School where a total of 76 students tested positive.
On Monday a Form 4 student at Lureko Secondary School in Mumias West Constituency succumbed to the Covid-19 virus.
