This archive report was first published on 14 July 2020.
A bizarre incident unfolded at a shopping mall in Mombasa on an unknown date, with a doctor in full Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) gear causing panic among shoppers.
The doctor, attached to the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital, arrived at the mall in a tuktuk and walked in alongside other shoppers, wearing his PPE gear. His appearance sparked fear among some shoppers, who scrambled for safety, suspecting that the medic had escaped from isolation.
However, other shoppers confronted the doctor and handed him over to the authorities. Mombasa County Commissioner Gilbert Kitiyo later warned health workers against misusing protective gear, stating that they should follow set guidelines in using PPEs.
According to Kitiyo, the personal gears should be used in areas where they are needed to avoid risking the lives of those in contact with the wearer. The doctor, in his defense, claimed that he was in a rush to buy a birthday cake for his wife and had forgotten to remove his PPE gear.
