This archive report was first published on 22 May 2020.
On May 22, 2020, Kenya reported its first death from Covid-19 in a 33-year-old patient, defying the conventional wisdom that young people are less likely to succumb to the virus.
The patient's death sparked a new regulation requiring hospital admissions to be tested for Covid-19, and raised questions about the accuracy of death certificates in attributing cause of death.
According to World Health Organization guidelines, a Covid-19 death should be documented independently of pre-existing conditions, and attributed solely to the virus.
However, Dr. Edwin Walong, a pathologist at Kenyatta National Hospital, noted that assigning the cause of death is not straightforward, citing a patchwork of rules and regulations, as well as the rising number of people dying at home.
Dr. Patrick Amoth, the director-general for Health, stated that all patients who have succumbed to the coronavirus had an underlying health condition that may have worsened their condition.
Dr. Amoth explained that most of the cases had either diabetes or hypertension, and that the Health ministry had said that most patients hospitalized have some type of underlying condition.
Dr. Walong emphasized the importance of autopsy in determining the cause of death, noting that without wide use of autopsy, cause of death can be misclassified, with different pathologists having different opinions.
