This archive report was first published on 4 July 2020.
July 4, 2020, marked a significant milestone for Austin Otieno, a clinical officer in Kehancha Sub-County, Migori County, as he became one of the 2,148 patients to have recovered from COVID-19 in Kenya.
According to Otieno, he suspects he contracted the virus from Tanzanian nationals who flocked to Kenyan hospitals due to the distance between their places of residence and the nearest health facilities in Tanzania.
“On Tanzanian end, the nearest hospital from the Kenya-Tanzania border at Sirare, is 40 kilometers; that explains why we received many patients from Tanzania at the Kehancha Sub-County Hospital or Ntimaru Hospital in Kuria East,” Otieno told K24 Digital.
After volunteering to get tested for the virus, Otieno learned of his COVID-19 status and was taken to Nyatike Isolation Centre, where he spent 21 days under quarantine.
During his stay, Otieno underwent multiple tests, with the first test returning ‘invalid’ results, the second test indicating he was COVID-19 negative, and the third test showing he was still COVID-19 positive.
However, after completing an additional seven days of quarantine, Otieno's second round of tests showed he was COVID-19 negative, and he was eventually discharged.
Reflecting on his experience, Otieno emphasizes that being COVID-19-positive is not a death sentence and encourages Kenyans to debunk fears surrounding the virus.
