This archive report was first published on 21 June 2020.
Covid-19: Government's Failure to Support Family in Crisis ¶
Published on June 21, 2020, a family's tragic loss has exposed the government's shortcomings in handling the Covid-19 pandemic. A matriarch died in just 72 hours after diagnosis, leaving her family to navigate a complex and often inadequate healthcare system.
According to an exclusive interview with the woman's daughter, Jane Doe, the family's ordeal began when her mother complained of chest pains and malaria-like symptoms. Despite being in her early 60s, she was a healthy individual who had never been the sickly kind.
However, a trip to a city hospital returned a diagnosis of pneumonia, and the family was advised to test for Covid-19 as a precaution. But the process was not as straightforward as it seemed.
"A day-long search for the government-designated facilities offering free testing was problematic, never mind the billions of shillings pronounced for this exercise," Jane said. "We had to contend with extended queues and a shortage of reagents. But mostly we were faced with the real possibility of a delay in getting her results."
After paying Sh8,000 for a private test at Lancet Kenya, the family received the news that their mother had tested positive. But the reality of the situation was sobering, with no official coming to check if the self-quarantine directive was being adhered to.
"It took self-discipline not to leave our suburban quarters for a walk," Jane said. "The other discrepancy we noted was that the doctor assigned to mother's case would call 24 hours later. He advised that the best option was for mother to stay home and nurse the pneumonia because the isolation facilities were overwhelmed."
Despite the doctor's assurances, the family's mother collapsed in her house the next day, and they were left to fend for themselves. They called the 719 hotline, but the operator transferred them to an attending doctor who explained that they were overwhelmed and it was up to the family to find a private alternative.
The government-designated doctor who had been dealing with the case hung up when he heard the news and never contacted the family. The family was left to search for an ambulance, which eventually charged them Sh20,000 upfront.
They agreed on a meeting point, but as fate would have it, their mother never made the trip to hospital. The ambulance crew pronounced her dead and fled.
Not more than 72 hours had passed from the time of diagnosis to death. The distraught family drove to the police station where they met officers who did not know the protocol on how to deal with the situation. They were forced to transport their mother to the morgue in the family car.
"We were told that State regulations for Covid-19 deaths only allow for a 48-hour burial window," Jane said. "We paid Sh3,500 for a burial permit. We were also issued with travel permits by the chief and police. The rest of the preparations were conducted virtually and with great difficulty, a far cry from the befitting send-off we had hoped to give mother."
There was more heart-breaking drama on the day of the funeral, with irate local youths threatening to block the proceedings, and fumigators in their full-body protective gear disrupting the brief one-hour ceremony.
"The entire exercise was what I can only describe as pure hell," Jane said. "We were not even allowed to step into the house. We all had to return to the capital immediately under heavy police guard."
The family's ordeal has left them with more questions than answers. They have undergone testing at great cost and their results came back negative. But with a post-mortem out of the question, the family might never get closure.
"No government official has visited our home to condole with us or give us direction," Jane said. "My humble verdict as an onlooker is that Kenyans are not ready for what is yet to be revealed. If you are over 50 years, it is prudent that you stay home until there is a permanent solution to this pandemic."
