Mombasa suspected Coronavirus case samples taken to South Africa

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The Coast Provincial General Hospital signboard./COURTESY

The samples of a female medical student suspected to be having deadly Coronavirus at the Coastal Provincial General Hospital have been taken to South Africa for testing.

Speaking when he appeared before the National Assembly health committee chaired by Muranga women rep Sabina Chege, head of preventative diseases in the ministry of health, Dr. Daniel Langat said that the sample has been taken to South Africa in a bid to ascertain whether the student is having the disease.

He said that the student is still in isolation until it is confirmed whether she has the virus or not.

He pointed out that Kenya lacks testing kits and the country will be ready to undertake testing of the disease in a week after the testing reagents are imported into the country from abroad.

“The country doesn’t have testing reagents; we will have them in a week.”Dr. Langat said 

Currently, the countries undertaking the testing include, Thailand, China, the USA, and South Africa among others.

The student, from Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, arrived in the country on the 30th of January.

The country’s major entry points have also been put under strict surveillance for the disease that originated from the Wuhan province of China and which has infected more than 14,000 people in China and killed more than 300.

The World Health Organization on Friday declared the coronavirus a global emergency, with a special focus on countries that have no health capacities to deal with the outbreak.

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