• Garissa health executive Ahmednadir Omar said the male patient aged 30 complained of chest pains, difficulty in breathing and coughing.
• The patient has no history of traveling outside the country, or close contact with a confirmed or probable case of Covid-19.
A man who was rushed to Garissa Referral Hospital on Wednesday night with coronavirus-like symptoms had other underlying health conditions, it emerged.
Garissa health executive Ahmednadir Omar said the male patient aged 30 complained of chest pains, difficulty in breathing and coughing.
"At about 10.30 hours yesterday, we received a call on our hotline from someone who reported that he was not feeling well and was suspecting to have contracted the coronavirus,” Omar posted on the county's Facebook page on Thursday.
He said immediately they got the report, the health department rapid response team was dispatched to see the patient.
"The preliminary assessment by the team reached a decision to take the patient to the isolation centre at the Garissa Referral Hospital," he said.
"At the isolation centre he was seen by the medical officer trained on Covid-19 management. The medic said the patient had a history of asthma. The patient didn’t have fever at the time he was seen by the RRT."
The CEC said that about three hours into admission at the isolation centre, the patient developed fever and body temperature rose to 38.6 degrees Celsius.
"Upon in-depth assessment and history taken by the medic, the patient was found not to meet the case definition set for Covid-19," he said.
The patient, Omar said, had no history of traveling outside the country, or close contact with a confirmed or probable case of Covid-19.
Omar said the patient did not attend or work in any health facility with Covid-19 patients and had no close contact with an individual with respiratory illness.
He said that the clinical team trained on Covid-19 will, however, monitor the patient for the next 24 hours after which he will be reviewed.
"The patient is being managed well and all the laid down procedures are being followed. There is no cause for alarm," he said.
Garissa county has not reported any coronavirus cases. The country has 28 confirmed cases.
Edited by A.Ndung'u