• Seventy-year-old man had left his home in Koimbi village months ago to seek treatment for other conditions in Nairobi.
• He put up with his sister and contracted the virus during his stay.
Image: /ALICE WAITHERA
The family of a man who died of Covid-19 needs support, not segregation, Kahuro deputy county commissioner Wilberforce Kilonzo has told residents.
“This family has just lost a father. Do not cause them more agony by segregating them yet they are not sick,” Kilonzo said.
Kilonzo said that the 70-year-old had left his home in Koimbi village months ago to seek treatment for other conditions in Nairobi county.
The man put up with his sister and contracted the virus during his stay.
He was taken to Kenyatta National Hospital on May 23 with multiple complications and doctors conducted numerous tests including one for the coronavirus.
He was found positive and his health status deteriorated, occasioning his death less than 24 hours later.
Kilonzo told journalists that the man’s family has been making plans to have his body transported from Nairobi to his rural home.
“Last Sunday, the family informed us that they wanted the burial ceremony held on Wednesday and we liaised with the department of public health to ensure it was done in the right way,” he said.
The public was also informed that the burial ceremony would not be conducted normally and that they would not be allowed to attend.
The man was buried on Wednesday, with pictures of the public health officials conducting the exercise surfacing online and causing panic.
The DCC assured residents that the village and the entire subcounty is safe.
The administrator urged residents to continue with their daily activities as they have been doing while observing the guidelines issued by the government.
The man’s sister and her family have been tested and isolated.
“The man’s family in Koimbi is safe as they did not interact with him since he left months ago,” Kilonzo noted.
He urged residents not to segregate the family as has been experienced in other areas where affected families are stigmatised.
“The family members who interacted with him have been isolated and if infected, they will be treated before being allowed to integrate with others,” the DCC said.
The county commissioner had earlier dismissed claims that another man who collapsed and died in Igikiro, Maragua, was also suffering from the virus.
The commissioner said the man was suffering from other conditions for which he had failed to seek treatment for a long time.
(edited by o. owino)