Exclusive: What it's like being under quarantine in Kenya, find out in this Pulselive.co.ke interview

Governments have been struggling to get the crisis under control but the ultimate goal isn’t to stop the virus in its tracks, as cases have already spread too widely for that, but to “flatten the curve,” meaning to slow the rate of new infections.

This gives researchers time to develop tests and treatments and keeps hospitals from getting overwhelmed with a sudden rush of new patients.

Quarantines help seclude people who are not known to be infected but may have been exposed to a person who is.

Pulselive.co.ke spoke to a person under quarantine who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity and got a glimpse of what it's like to be in isolation.

How long have you been in quarantine now and how are you feeling?

I landed at JKIA on Monday morning, where we filled in self-isolation forms and gave location details of where we would be self-isolating for the next 14 days, our temperatures were taken and we were through the process. In the queue for immigration, a lady announced to us we needed to report to Kenya Medical Training Centre at 11 am to be screened, this was not communicated to us when we signed the self-isolation forms.

We were then allowed to go home until 11 am. At 11 am I am reported to KMTC, no-one was screened instead there were 50 or so people that had landed Sunday pm and Monday am from the US, Amsterdam, London (and other locations) and we were kept there until 3 pm in discussions with the members from the Ministry of Health.

It didn’t seem as if there was a plan in place immediately and we were kept here for a few hours. We were given the option of staying at the KMTC dorms or going to the Boma Inn Hotel.

Everyone was transported from KMTC in a bus together and people social distancing was not observed. If anyone had the virus, this was an opportunity to spread it amongst travellers but there were also family members there who had not travelled and were not going into quarantine.

Once we arrived at our destination, we were not seen by anyone from the Ministry of Health until the following afternoon Tuesday 24th March when they came around the rooms and asked how we were feeling.

I have been in quarantine for 4 days and i feel fine.

Are they allowing visitors like spouses and relatives?

No visitors are allowed understandably.

Are they administering any form of medication to those who test + for Covid-19?

I have not been tested in the 4 days of quarantine I have endured so far. On Tuesday I was visited by a medical team who asked how I was feeling but they did not check my temperature or do any other tests.

Since then I have received no medical visits. I do not know what the situation is for anyone that has tested positive for COVID-19, we have not been communicated to or received any information as to whether anyone on our flights or what we were with at the KMTC had coronavirus.

Those who are in quarantine, what is happening during the duration? Are the medical staffs friendly and are they taking care of you well?

We are left in our rooms, I have seen very little of the medical staff. Luckily there is wifi in the quarantine locations as we are not allowed to leave our rooms.

Are there any activities you're doing while in quarantine? What are the conditions of the quarantine centers?

There is a range of different places available to be quarantined in (hotels, government facilities) with varying costs (attached the list of quarantine locations).

The cost of each facility is at your own expense. There are no activities available as we are not allowed to leave our rooms although I am talking to the hotel to allow us time outside every day, but they are under the rules of the Ministry of Health.