This archive report was first published on 8 July 2020.
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread in Mombasa County, health officials are exploring home-based care for patients to reduce the burden on public hospitals.
According to Dr. Khadija Shikely, the Mombasa County health chief officer, over 200 patients have been discharged from isolation facilities to self-isolate at home.
Dr. Shikely explained that self-isolation is crucial in dealing with the pandemic, but it requires total commitment, discipline, and adherence to the Ministry of Health guidelines.
"We have released 80 patients from the Coast Provincial General Hospital, 129 from the Technical University of Mombasa isolation center, 3 from Mombasa Hospital and 2 from the Agakhan hospital. 62 have been isolated at home after tests," she said.
Dr. Shikely emphasized that asymptomatic patients are allowed to self-isolate at home, but they must follow the health directives and live in a self-contained house to separate themselves from their family members.
A clinical officer will then call the patient regularly to check on their condition and provide guidance on managing symptoms.
"The clinical officer will call those who are self-isolating to check if they have temperatures, cough, tiredness, loss of breath among other coronavirus symptoms. But for the 14 days incubation period, you must stay indoors, no visitors thereafter you will recover from the disease," highlighted Dr. Shikely.
Dr. Shikely also explained that those hospitalized receive symptomatic treatment, including antibiotics and vitamin supplements to boost their immunity.
"We have three categories of patients, a suspected case is an individual who has symptoms but has not been tested for coronavirus. So we separate the patient from the rest, test to ascertain their condition. We also have those who have been tested and turned positive but have mild or lack symptoms. Last is a sick coronavirus patient, the individual is normally moderate or severely ill, they always have co-morbidities such as cancer, HIV, pressure, asthma, TB, and heart diseases," she explained.
Dr. Shikely urged the public to stop stigmatizing Covid-19 patients, emphasizing that the disease can affect anyone and is not a lifetime condition.
"We should stop stigmatization against coronavirus patients. We have cases of many who are undergoing stigma after recovering from the virus, this is a disease that can affect anyone. It is not a lifetime disease, people heal. Let’s wash hands, sanitize, wear face masks and stay home, prevention is better than cure," she said.
With the support of USAID, the county has enhanced coronavirus sensitization in the villages and has also received donations of care packs from the private sector to cushion residents from the economic effects of the pandemic.
Dr. William Kingi, the Mombasa Deputy Governor, emphasized the importance of seeking treatment in a hospital if symptoms persist, assuring residents that public hospitals have separated isolation wards from general facilities to prevent infections.
