Fourth Kenyan who died of Covid-19 in the UK identified
The fourth Kenyan to die of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom has been identified as Wangula Khasiani.
Khasiani, an accountant by profession, succumbed to the virus while undergoing treatment at a hospital in London on Saturday, April 25.
The late Khasiani is among 18 Kenyans who have died of Covid-19 abroad, according to a tally that was released by the government on Tuesday.
The Kenyan community in the UK mourned his passing and added that there are five other Kenyans who are presently undergoing medication for Covid-19 in various hospitals in the country.
“Our deepest sympathy, thoughts and prayers are with his family. May his soul rest in peace,” a post shared by the community read.
The community said that Kenyans in the UK have organised themselves in various groups to support each other.
It said that 50 percent of Kenyans in the Diaspora work in social and healthcare and most others working in logistics, retail among other sectors that are still operating and that they were aware of how vulnerable most of these are.
DEATHS ABROAD
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Ambassador Macharia Kamau said that most of the deaths had occurred in the US, with the majority of the deaths being recorded in New York and Boston.
According to Macharia, there is one Kenyan who is admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) in a Sweden hospital in critical condition.
Since the outbreak of coronavirus, the government has directed that families whose kin die abroad to bury them there but those insisting on bringing their bodies back to Kenya must do so at their own cost.
“Families willing to bring home the bodies of their relatives will have to bear the costs or allow them to be cremated in a foreign land,” said Macharia.
The number of Covid-19 fatalities abroad is slightly higher compared to the 14 who have died in Kenya.
Some 26,097 people in the UK have died after testing positive for Covid-19 as of April 28 according to Public Health England (PHE) and for the first time the tally includes daily figures of deaths outside of hospital settings.