Americans warned against visiting Kenya over Covid
Centres for Disease Control (CDC) of the United States has cautioned Americans against travelling to Kenya, citing high prevalence of coronavirus cases.
The advisory was issued at a time the US is reporting a high number of up to 100,000 cases daily, compared to recent Kenya’s daily average of about 1,000 or less.
CDC also assigned Kenya a Level 4 alert, the highest risk level for Covid-19.
“Travellers should avoid all trips to Kenya. If you must travel, talk to your doctor ahead of travel, especially if you are at increased risk for severe illness from Covid-19,” CDC said in a statement.
Reacting to the advisory, Health Chief Administrative Secretary, Dr Rashid Aman, said every country has a right to determine how to deal with the pandemic.
“You know, every country has a right to determine how it wants to deal with the pandemic, so it is not a surprise if CDC in America feels they want to grade the situation in Kenya to Level 4 and issue a travel advisory,” Aman said yesterday.
He said even with the resumption of international flights, it was considered a cautious approach by countries including Kenya, in terms of who should be allowed to come into the country to protect themselves.
He said Kenya’s positivity rate is gradually declining and the only challenge the country may face is the upcoming holiday season, a time when virus spread may be accelerated.
