The government is on spot after a woman who had been placed on mandatory quaratine committed suicide. The facility she was being held is said to be worse than a police cell and had requested to be a transferred to a hotel since she could afford. She was being held at Kenya Industrial Training Institute (KITI), where she was, alongside four others.
The victim had traveled back from South Africa.
“Yesterday, she complained that the conditions are deplorable and had requested to be taken to a hotel for quarantine as she could afford, but the health officials were hesitant”, one those in quarantine told local media.
The body was discovered by health workers who were doing their rounds as they checked the temperature of those under quarantine at the facility. She was in her own room and had music blasting from the inside. Health officials were shocked to find a hanging body after they accessed the door. She had hanged herself using a piece of cloth just above the double-decked bed.
Complains of poor conditions by people undergoing quarantine in different locations have damped efforts by the government to ensure that everyone jetting into the country is quarantined in safe and conducive areas.
Earlier this week, one of the men quarantined there, Samson Ruto, an athlete returning from a cancelled marathon in India, had pleaded for aid saying he didn’t have food.
The government seems to be executing policies that are not practical and do not address the various segments of the society. Those placed on mandatory quarantine should allowed to pick a place that is convenient for them. You can’t force a well of person to stay in a hostel that worse than a police cell. This stigma should end. Paranoia should not inform how we implement some of the measures in place.
