After a two-month self-quarantine in his hostel, Bernard Muthuri has a tall tale to tell of the epidemic that is coronavirus in China.
Muthuri, 28, and a mechanical engineering student in China’s Changan University is finally in Kenya with his family but he describes the two months lockdown in his hostel as “hell”.
He left the Chinese city of Xi’an on February 22 aboard an Ethiopian Airways flight, ET318 to Kenya’s capital.
His joy upon landing at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on February 23 at 10:25 am was beyond measure.
However, upon returning to Kenya, he still had to quarantine himself for a further 14 days just in case he was infected with the coronavirus. The quarantine started immediately he set foot at JKIA.
He says that though he felt time as moving slowly, he thanked God that he was finally in Kenya.
“It was like hell. Some family members wanted to forcibly see me. I remember there’s a day my uncle came home drunk and almost broke into my room, saying he doesn’t fear the virus.
“But my parents kept encouraging and praying for me until Monday when I completed my 14 days of isolation,” he told the media.
Before he left China, he signed a consent declaring that they were in good health condition and that he would isolate himself for two weeks.
“Before leaving [China], we were asked to sign a consent form stating that we were in good health and that our temperatures were normal and had no fever,” he added
Muthuri also undertook safety precautions by wearing respiratory masks and constant use of and sanitizer to minimize changes of infecting his kin with coronavirus in the event he had it.
He adds that though he has finished his quarantine, no Kenyan health official has contacted him to make follow up on his health.
Coronavirus which was first reported in China’s Wuhan City has killed over 4,635 people leaving 126,000 people battling the deadly virus.
