10 from Liberia get clean bill of health

What you need to know:

  • Director of Medical Services Nicholas Muraguri could not be reached on his mobile phone for details.
  • One of the returnees, Ms Esther Mwongeli, told the Nation that she had been given a clean bill of health by the medical workers.

The 10 Kenyans who returned from Ebola-hit Liberia three weeks ago have been given a clean bill of health after their 21-day quarantine.

“We will be making an official announcement on this tomorrow (Friday),” said Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia.

Director of Medical Services Nicholas Muraguri could not be reached on his mobile phone for details.

One of the returnees, Ms Esther Mwongeli, told the Nation that she had been given a clean bill of health by the medical workers who were monitoring her during the quarantine period.

She said she would move to Machakos after being in Nairobi during the three weeks of observation.

QUARANTINE PERIOD

“Life was normal even during the quarantine period. My movements were not restricted, although I had to stay within Nairobi so that the health workers could reach me whenever they needed,” she said.

Ms Mwongeli and her six-year-old son, Walter, had been living in Liberia since 2008.

The other eight returnees declined to speak to the media and it has been difficult to verify whether they had been sufficiently monitored.

Shortcomings in the health sector’s preparedness for Ebola were exposed during the quarantine period as some of the returnees reported they were monitored only through phone calls.

Dr Muraguri defended the health workers. “Only high risk people such as health workers who had direct contact with Ebola patients are supposed to get daily visits. But low risk patients such as the 10 Kenyans only need to be seen every 48 hours,” he said.