This archive report was first published on 6 May 2020.
On May 6, 2020, the Kenyan government made a significant announcement regarding its Covid-19 response strategy. In a press briefing, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe revealed that the government would now cover the costs of targeted testing and quarantine facilities.
According to Kagwe, this move aims to encourage more Kenyans to come forward for testing, which had been a major concern for the government. The low turnout for the free government Covid-19 testing that was rolled out on Friday in major hot spots in the country had forced the government to appeal to its citizens to willingly come forward to be tested.
“Kenyans should therefore forthwith not be afraid… let me repeat that, effective today government quarantine facilities will be occupied by those told to do so by the Ministry of Health and will be quarantined at the facilities free of charge,” said Kagwe.
The government's decision to bear the cost of quarantine facilities comes after it was established that self-quarantine, which relied on the goodwill of individuals, did not guarantee compliance. The Public Health Act allows the government to confine people against their will if those individuals present a danger to themselves or others, even if the person being confined has not committed a crime.
