Kenyans from Liberia re-unite with families

There was relief as 10 Kenyans who arrived from Ebola-ravaged West Africa and had been isolated at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi were released.

While they were allowed to go home, they will be monitored for the next 21 days for any signs of the disease, said Mr Kepha Ombacho, a Ministry of Health official.

On arrival, the group was not allowed to have contact with their relatives until their blood was screened for the virus or symptoms of the deadly haemorrhagic fever.

Results of tests on their blood samples were out after six hours at the Kenya Medical Research Institute.

Meanwhile, their interaction with those outside the isolation area was only via phone.

The ministry had said it expected 12 people, but only 10 arrived.

“We are working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to trace the other two Kenyans,” Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said on Wednesday.

“We are yet to get more information about why they did not board the flight with the rest.”

The Kenyans had been stranded in West Africa for months after major airlines withdrew their flights to the region following the Ebola outbreak.

At the JKIA, they were held in two separate rooms; men on one side and women and children on the other. For the night, as they awaited the test results, they slept on double decker beds and were provided with essentials.

Ms Esther Mwongeli and her son, Walter Blessing Mutuku, were some of those in quarantine.

She is a pastor and was in Liberia for a church mission. She had spoken to her sister, Ms Rose Ngeke Musila, by phone. She was optimistic that she would be released from the airport.

“We were received with dignity by the government; they have provided our accommodation and given us meals.

“We filled in a form that captured details on whether we had been close to an Ebola patient or visited sick people or attended burials while in Liberia,” she said.

After her release, her sister was happy that Ms Mwongeli was home.

“Kenyans should not stigmatise them now. They are clean of Ebola and we are happy that the government is doing this not just to clear them but also to protect the country,” she said.

Mr Charles Thuo, 43, his wife Kerstine Kageni, 40, and their twins Debora and Jeremy, 2, were also in isolation.

They were accompanied by their househelp, Ms Mercella Magiri, 40. The wife, the househelp and children walked out of the International Arrivals section to meet Mr Thuo’s three sisters at 1.15pm. Mr Thuo left later.

The group had arrived on Tuesday night at around 11pm, and were observed for any symptoms of the fever.

They were further required to provide their permanent residential addresses and telephone contacts in Kenya.

They were released two hours after the authorities gave them a clean bill of health after their blood samples had tested negative for the virus.

FIRST LEAVE

After their release, an unidentified woman carrying an infant was the first to leave the International Arrivals terminal at 1pm, followed by a young man about 10 minutes later.

At 1.15pm, Mr Thuo’s wife, Kerstine, emerged pushing a luggage cart with her son on it. She headed for the parking lot, where they were seen kissing and hugging their elated relatives.

That was despite the ministry warning that they should quarantine themselves for the next 21 days to confirm the absence of the virus.

Next was Ms Magiri, emerging about 10 minutes later, pushing more luggage and the other twin, Deborah, on a cart.

Some returnees avoided curious stares from travellers and journalists at the JKIA as they made their way to waiting cars at the parking lot.

Others had changed into new clothes minutes before they left the isolation unit to throw off reporters who were waiting for them outside.

According to a statement released by the Health Cabinet Secretary on Wednesday, the 10 passengers were required to “strictly self-quarantine at home for 21 days”.

However, the ministry did not specify how a person is supposed to behave during the period under quarantine.

A health worker will visit each of them for the duration, which is the incubation period for the Ebola virus, to monitor their status.

If any of them tests positive, the individual will be taken to the Kenyatta National Hospital for further management.

Further, if one develops fever during the monitoring period, the affected individual will be picked up immediately and taken to isolation, according to Mr Macharia.

The World Health Organisation has identified Kenya as a high-risk zone for Ebola, which the organisation considers “the most severe acute public health emergency in modern times”.