This is the cost of getting Covid-19 treatment in Kenya

Covid-19 is with us and everyone is at risk. But what has put many on the edge is the cost of treating and managing the disease should you experience severe symptoms.

While other patients show mild or no symptoms of Covid-19 even after turning positive, Covid-19 has turned to be a life threatening ailment and we have already lost one too many people to the disease.

If you are in Kenya, you might want to know the cost of managing Coronavirus should you test positive. The cost of treating Corona is expensive in Kenya and many might not afford it. To make the matters worse, NHIF and Insurance companies have shunned away from providing Covid-19 cover.

At the Beginning the government had announced the Covid-19 patients will have their hospital bills catered for by the government, however that has turned out to be different. Health CS while clarifying on the issue stated that indeed government is bearing the cost of managing and treating Covid-19 patients however it is only those who fall under targeted testing and contact tracing that are funded by the government.

For patients who go for the test by either because they want to know their status or they have Covid-19 symptoms, they have to bear the costs by themselves. This leaves the wider population forced to foot the costs of testing and getting treatment.

Treatment Cost

Taking the Covid-19 test will cost you between Ks. 2,000 and Ksh.3,000 in public hospitals.

According to Ministry of Health Director General Patrick Amoth, patients who are asymptomatic pay Sh. 21,300 per day. Those with slight symptoms such as a mild cough or slight difficulty in breathing pay Sh. 21, 400 per day.

“Those with a mild form of the disease with symptoms such as a mild cough or slight difficulty in breathing cost becomes Sh.21,359 per day while patients with a severe form of Covid-19 who require supplementary oxygen are taken care of at a cost of Sh. 51,684 per day. If you require ICU critical care support including intubation and ventilator support the figure goes to Sh. 71,000 per day,” he said.

Going by these estimates, a patient with severe symptoms put in isolation for a week would be required to pay Sh. 345,870 as hospital bill or for a patient who is critical Sh. 723,576.

Also Read:How local radio stations are conning innocent Kenyans

What Makes Covid-19 treatment and care so expensive in Kenya?

Covid-19 is indeed an expensive disease to treat and manage, considering the need for proper protection by health workers while handling the patients, protective gears needed makes the cost go so high.

Among the services that patients may be charged include; In patient stay, oxygen and tank fees, ventilator charges, professional care, cost of drugs, cost of PPE’s among others.

The charges in private hospitals is way more expensive than in public hospitals.