Students sent home after Covid cases reported in school
A health worker collects a sample for Covid-19 testing from a resident of Kibera, Nairobi, on October 18, 2020.
What you need to know:
- The county department of health says the exposed students cannot be managed at the institution.
- The health department has guaranteed medical care for the sick students on home-based care.
Kiamaina Secondary School in Bahati, Nakuru County has been closed indefinitely after four students tested positive for Covid-19.
Following the school's closure more than 100 KCSE candidates will remain home for atleast 14 days.
The county department of health said the students who tested positive, together with their contacts, cannot be managed at the institution since it is a day school.
"To contain the disease, it is advisable to quarantine the entire school for 14 days and manage the confirmed cases in isolation, at their homes, until they recover,” said Dr Kariuki Gichuki, the health executive.
The first case of Covid-19 in the school was reported on October15, 2020.
The 18-year-old student, together with her parents, were admitted at Nakuru Level Five Hospital and discharged after they recovered.
According to Dr Gichuki, close contacts were identified and quarantined and later on November 18, 2020, an alert was received through the county hotline that students at the school were exhibiting Covid-19 like symptoms.
“Nakuru North Sub-county Rapid Response Team visited the school on November 19, 2020 to conduct further investigation. Samples were collected from 30 students and 10 teachers who had symptoms and those who felt that they might have been exposed,” he said.
However, four students tested positive.
“We have collected their samples and sent them for a second test to ascertain their status. The results are yet to be confirmed,” Dr Gichuki added.
Medical care
The school has a population of 120 candidates and 27 teachers.
The department has established that two other students (a Form Four and a Form One) at the school, are contacts to a parent who died on November 15, 2020 while on Covid-19 management at Bondeni isolation centre.
The health department has guaranteed medical care for the sick students on home-based care and for those who will require further medication at the health facilities.
A medical team has been deployed to monitor the condition of the students both in isolation and quarantine, on a daily basis and ensure that they complete the required period. More tests will be done on them.
