State’s tough rules for those under mandatory quarantine

The government expects up to 2,000 people will be placed under mandatory quarantine and has issued guidelines on their handling and living conditions.

The individuals will be quarantined for 14 days in selected hotels and government facilities as part of measures to curb spread of coronavirus.

A document drafted by the Ministry of Health outlines protocols that will guide the management of the quarantine. The people being placed in isolation are majorly Kenyans arriving from abroad.

Hundreds of Kenyans have been affected by the directive issued by the government on Sunday, requiring all persons entering the country to self-quarantine to stop the spread of Covid-19.

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe announced that those coming into the country, beginning Sunday night to Wednesday, March 25, would undergo mandatory quarantine at their own expense.

Meals delivered

The ministry document notes guests will have their meals delivered outside their doors, and when they are done eating the used utensils will be placed in bleach solution provided by the hotel.

It says all guests should be placed in a well-ventilated single room with open windows and an open door and their movement limited.

“However, clients may be allowed time outside of their rooms to stretch at designated areas in the hotel and coordinated time intervals while maintaining one metre social distance,” says the document.

The protocols discourage sharing of rooms. Couples are discouraged from sharing rooms, however, consideration will be made for parents with children who require guardianship.

The facilities are required to submit to the ministry details of all the guests and hotel room numbers.

Cleaning of the rooms will be the responsibility of the room occupant while the management will facilitate cleaning materials (bucket and mop with bleach disinfectant of 1:6 dilution).

“The room occupant will request and change bed linen themselves as need arises. The hotel will provide fresh linen and buckets with bleach and water. The hotel will launder the disinfected laundry and wash accordingly.”

The same conditions applies to those being quarantined at various government institutions.

The management will ensure all the laundry is disinfected and washed accordingly.

It adds hand hygiene should also be performed before eating, after using the toilet and whenever hands look dirty.

“If hands are not visibly dirty, an alcohol-based hand rub can be used. For visibly dirty hands, use soap and water. When washing hands with soap and water, it is preferable to use disposable paper towels to dry hands. If these are not available, use clean cloth towels (single user).”

It adds: “To contain respiratory secretions, the mouth and nose should be covered with a disposable paper tissue when coughing or sneezing. Materials used to cover the mouth and nose should be discarded or cleaned appropriately after use (eg wash handkerchiefs using regular soap or detergent and water).”

The protocols says health workers and hotel staff interacting closely with the client should wear a tightly fitted N95 mask that covers their mouth and nose.

“Remove the mask using the appropriate technique – that is, do not touch the front, but instead untie it. Discard the mask immediately after use and perform hand hygiene. Avoid direct contact with body fluids, particularly oral or respiratory secretions, and stool. Use disposable gloves and a mask when providing oral or respiratory care and when handling stool, urine and other waste. Perform hand hygiene before and after removing gloves and the mask.”

It says staff should ensure dedicated linen and eating utensils for the patient to be cleaned with soap and hot water after use and may be re-used instead of being discarded.

It adds heavy duty gloves and protective clothing (plastic aprons) should be used when cleaning surfaces or handling clothing or linen soiled with body fluids and after use they should be cleaned with soap and water and decontaminated with 0.5 per cent chlorine bleach solution.

The medical response team will conduct a daily symptomatic screen, using the hotel phone service or mobile number and from the fifth day, lab screening will be done.

A screening will be shared with the Ministry of Health team leads.

Most of those who arrived had originated from the Middle East and Ethiopia where some flights are operating. They were held in various facilities in Mombasa and Nairobi amid complaints of poor conditions.

The facilities had stated their capacity and rates they would offer. Those being quarantined include flight crews.

Some of the victims said that neither safety nor logistical measures had been put in place to facilitate the isolation.

Kagwe had acknowledged the logistical challenges and apologised to the affected individuals, assuring that everything would be set in order.

“I want at this point to issue an apology to the parents and individuals who have been so inconvenienced since last night. We are aware that we had logistical challenges that we encountered as a result of the speed at which we wanted to move into quarantining individuals,” said Kagwe.

He pleaded with the hotels offering the quarantine services to reduce the charges as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility.

“I want to thank those hotels that have already admitted the quarantined people but we are appealing to you… these are people who came to the country without a plan to spend money in a hotel. If your normal charges are Sh12,000 in a hotel room you should not be charging more than 50 per cent or 25 per cent of that,” said Kagwe.

More arrivals

He disclosed that individuals will henceforth be given the option of being quarantined at a hotel or government designated facility after touching down at the airport, adding that more arrivals are expected.

The CS further assured that the Ministry of Health officials and security officers will also be deployed to the various quarantine facilities to ensure smooth running of operations at the quarantine centres.

“It is also important to be appraised of the fact that probably none of them is positive, so we don’t want stigmatisation,” reiterated the CS.