A passenger who arrived in the country from China has been reportedly quarantined at the Kenyatta National Hospital over suspected infection by deadly Coronavirus.
The passenger, whose name is concealed, is currently being tested for SARS-like flu infection. The KNH administration and the Ministry of Health are yet to issue a substantive statement over the matter.
Another situation is at the Coast General Hospital in Mombasa County where a student who arrived from Beijing China, has been quarantined over a suspected infection. The hospital sent blood samples to Nairobi for analysis.
On Friday, the outgoing Cabinet Secretary for Health Sicily Kariuki revealed that a Kenyan student whose blood samples were flown to South Africa for analysis tested negative for the virus.
She insisted that the country was well equipped to guard against the emergence of the virus in the country.
“Our systems are working, and we have capacity and infrastructure to fight coronavirus,” the CS said.
The student was reported to have traveled from Chinese city Wuhan, where the virus emerged on January 20, to Zhangjiajie city before leaving for Nairobi through Guangzhou and Bangkok Thailand on January 27, landing at JKIA on Tuesday morning at 0615 hours.
By Sunday morning, the virus had killed over 300 people in China and left a trail of thousands of cases.
This comes after Kenya Airways temporarily suspended its flight to Chinese city Guangzhou following intense public outcry.
"We have temporarily suspended all flights to and from Guangzhou starting Friday 31 January 2020, until further notice," said Kenya Airways.
The airline added that it was working with the ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs and would provide updates as the situation develops.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs through Principal Secretary Macharia Kamau advised Kenyans against traveling to China unless it is extremely necessary.
“Kenyans are urged to avoid non-essential travel to Wuhan until the situation there is contained. Those on essential travels must comply with additional screening measures that have been put in place by authorities,” he said.
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