As Brenda Ivy Cherotich and Brian Orinda – two of Kenya’s three COVID-19 recoveries – continue to bask in the glory of their newfound celebrity status, the identity of the third survivor has largely been kept under wraps.
Identified only as Lydia, she was the first patient to recover from COVID-19 and reportedly holds dual citizenship – Kenyan and British.
According to a report by the Nation, Lydia, who maintained a low profile after being discharged, was not cooperative when she was suspected of being infected upon her arrival in Kenya on March 5.
Sources reportedly told the publication that she initially tried to run from the Ministry of Health officials after she was identified as a close contact of Brenda(Patient 1).
“She arrived in the country on the same flight from London as the first patient and gave the ministry a tough time when they called her to come for testing,” said the source.
“She lied about her location and refused to answer calls.”
Lydia had to be tracked down by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) to a hotel in Nairobi.
A source who spoke on condition of anonymity told Nation that police took her to the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) Infectious Diseases Unit (IDU) where she was tested.
After a positive confirmation, health officials traced close to 50 peope who came into contact with her.
Lydia was released from isolation last week and efforts to reach her have been futile since then.
