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Two Chinese nationals who were quarantined over Coronavirus scare have tested negative for the virus, the Ministry of Health has said.
One man had arrived in the country four days ago and had been quarantined at his house in Nakuru and another was working for Sino Hydro Construction Company in Kitui County.
The two cases bring to thirteen the number of coronavirus alerts in Kenya and have all tested negative.
“Two of the cases investigated yesterday in Mutomo, Kitui and Kilimani Nairobi did not meet the WHO case definition criteria,” read part of a statement from Ministry of Health.
The ministry dispelled fears that Kenya had not put measures in place to safeguard public health safety.
“The Government has stepped up preparedness measures through heightened surveillance system at all points of entry, health facilities and communities across the country to ensure that there is no importation of COVID-19 into the country,” a statement read.
The Sicily Kariuki-led ministry also revealed that isolation facilities had been set up at Kenyatta National Hospital and Mbagathi District Hospital to be used to isolate the suspected cases.
Apart from the procurement of additional 5,000 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), the Government said that trained rapid response teams were on standby to investigate any coronavirus alert in the country.
On the sensitisation of health workers in all health facilities and at points of entry on how to deal with suspected cases, the ministry said, “Five hundred health care workers have a been trained and additional health workers have been deployed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA)”.
The Ministry has however urged the public to remain vigilant and observe the following precautionary measures:
• Maintain basic hand and respiratory hygiene, and safe food practices.
• Avoid close contact with people suffering from acute respiratory infections.
• Anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as fever, coughing, difficulty in breathing and sneezing with a history of recent travel to China is advised to go to the nearest health facility for assessment and prompt management.
The latest figures bring the total number of coronavirus cases in mainland China to over 74,000 with 2,004 deaths.
The majority of cases reported occurred in the Hubei provincial capital of Wuhan. The city where the virus first appeared last year, is under virtual lockdown.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday said the prevention measures were "achieving visible progress".
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