Govt says yet to receive official report on MPs with coronavirus

The Ministry of Health now says it has not received any official communication on confirmed coronavirus cases in Parliament.

This comes after reports emerged claiming that 17 Members of Parliament were under isolation after testing positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Addressing the reports in a press briefing on Wednesday, Health Chief Administrative Secretary Dr. Mercy Mwangangi said: “…as it stands today and at this time, we have no official reporting of these cases to the Ministry of Health.”

“The Ministry is aware, and we did see the headlines reporting that there are positive cases of coronavirus in Parliament, what we have to say on this matter is that as it stands today and at this time, we have no official reporting of these cases to the Ministry of Health,” she said.

Meanwhile, Pathologists Lancet Kenya, who were commissioned by Parliament to carry out coronavirus tests on the lawmakers, dismissed reports alleging that 17 MPs had tested positive for COVID-19.

In a press statement issued on Wednesday, the laboratory said any information indicating that there are confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Parliament is “incorrect, misleading and should be disregarded.”

“Our attention has been drawn to the information circulating in the media about the recent testing for COVID-19 at Parliament grounds… The purported information circulating in the media about COVID-19 confirmed cases at Parliament is incorrect, misleading and  should be disregarded,” reads the statement.

Lancet says the results for each MP who was tested for the coronavirus were released to each individual person, to ensure confidentiality is safeguarded.

“Any person who turns positive for COVID-19 is informed individually by the doctors. In addition, the Ministry of Health is the only authority mandated to release COVID-19 positive results to the public,” said the laboratory.