(KDRTV)-As the number of coronavirus patients continues to rise, the government has now revealed that the average cost of caring for a single COVID-19 patient is about Ksh. 1 million
The high is mainly contributed to by the personal protective gear used by doctors accessing the isolation wards where the patients with COVID-19 are hospitalized
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Health Principal Secretary Susan Mochache, one personal protective equipment (PPE) costs about Ksh. 20, 000 and it is used for a single session per patient
This implies that each time a doctor visits a COVID-19 patient he/she discards that PPE and due to special medical care required a doctor could visit the patient several times in a day
Thus, one patient use PPE kits worth Ksh. 100, 000 to Ksh. 140. 000 in a day
Another thing that escalates the bill is the bed charges with the Kenyatta National Hospital charging Ksh. 4, 000 per night in the isolation wards
In addition, food, medicine, and other services would increase the bill depending on how long the patient would stay in the health facility
According to Dr. Samuel Njenga, an infectious disease expert at KNH, in an interview with the Nation, he said it cost about Ksh. 800, 000 to keep Brenda Ivy Cherotich at the Kenyatta Hospital for three weeks and Ksh. 409, 000 for Brian Orinda
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KDRTV understands that Brenda and Brian were Kenya`s first and third COVID-19 patient and the state proclaimed they fully recovered on April 2
Currently, there are 246 COVID-19 patients undergoing treatment in various private and public health facilities in the country
