Restriction of Fundamental Rights in a Context of Emergency: COVID-19 and the Aspect of Autonomy – Can Autonomy Be Limited?

Abstract

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by a virus that started in china late 2019 and has caused a worldwide pandemic. The world has been affected one way or the other from the outbreak of COVID-19. So far 357,736 have died from it with more than 5,704,736 confirmed infections across the world as at May 29, 2020 2. Kenya has not been spared either, with numbers steadily increasing day by day. Apart from causing a health crisis, it has created a human, economic and social crisis. There are currently no specific vaccines or treatments for COVID-19, however, there are many ongoing clinical trials evaluating potential treatments. Pandemics of this scale raise pressing medical, ethical, bioethical and organizational challenges. These include global governance, priority setting, allocation of scarce resources and restricting individual libertyautonomy in the interests of public health. Are there instances where the promotion of autonomy of patients as a means of upholding their respect and dignity impossible?