The Kenyan General Staff was in Kilifi yesterday to verify the progress of the adaptation of the Covid-19 virus containment and treatment facilities in the County.
Along with Minister Mutahi Kagwe, there was also Department Director Patrick Amoth, recently appointed number two at the World Health Organization in Africa.
Amoth, recalling Kenyan data on the dangers of the virus, i.e. the fact that only 10 percent of those tested positive are symptomatic and that one in five patients are severe and the others develop mild or moderate symptoms, Amoth revealed what the costs of public health in Kenya are for those who contract the Coronavirus.
A patient with mild symptoms such as a slight cough or a slight breathing difficulty who will be tested, counter-bounds and then receive treatment and check-ups presumably at home or in quarantine in specialist centres, will pay Kshs. 21,300 per day (about 200 euros) for treatment.
Symptomatic patients with an established form of Covid-19 who need supplementary oxygen and treatment in isolation wards will be treated at the cost of Kshs. 51,000 per day (about 450 euros).
"If, on the other hand, you feel the need to treat the patient in the intensive care unit, with intubation and ventilator support - explained Amoth - the figure will rise to Kshs. 71,000 per day".
Needless to say, these are prices that a large part of the Kenyan population cannot afford to face.
According to the Director General of Health it is essential to put in place measures to practice home care, since a large part of the population is taking the mild form of the disease.
"It is imperative to develop strategies to ensure that we can manage some of these people at home - said Amoth - Based on WHO criteria for home care, together with our case management team, we have protocols tailored by WHO that can be adapted to our settings, and we are already managing a number of people at home because most of our positive patients are still asymptomatic. Treatment is based on agreed criteria that must be managed and carried out by health professionals".
Currently, most of the people dealing with confirmed cases of Coronavirus in state isolation centres are nurses and almost all nurses are women. Women, as reported by the Ministry of Health, are much less susceptible to contracting the virus and if they develop it in mild forms, as is generally the case in Africa, not only because of their gender but also because of their age.
"If you look at the demographic profile, the average age of the population is very low - explained Amoth - and 60-65% of citizens are young people under 25 years of age who tend to contract a mild form of the disease.