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South African placed on mandatory quarantine in Kenya commits suicide

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A 27-year-old South African woman, who had been placed on a 14-day mandatory coronavirus quarantine in Kenya, appears to have committed suicide in her room.

The body of the victim was found hanging from the rafters of a hostel room at the Kenya Industrial Training Institute, in Nakuru, about 400 Kilometres from the capital Nairobi.

Health workers, who went to the institution to check on those quarantined, say the woman committed suicide.

Isolation vs Quarantine by SABC Digital News

Reports from Kenya’s daily nation, indicate that the woman had on Thursday complained that she had been quarantined in deplorable conditions and had asked to be transferred to a better facility, but was declined.

Under Kenya’s new stringent rules to contain the spread of COVID-19, all passengers, including nationals from overseas, entering Kenya are to remain in two-week isolation at a hotel or government facility.

The enforcement comes after the condition to self-quarantine voluntarily did not guarantee compliance. Travelers have a choice between paying for a hotel room or taking up government facilities.

The South African is said to have been put in forceful quarantine after she failed to attend quarantine on her arrival from South Africa.

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