Kenya’s Ministry of Health has confirmed a Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) case in Nairobi. The case, which was confirmed on the 12th March 2020, is the first one to be reported in Kenya and the East Africa since the beginning of the outbreak in China in December 2019.
The case is a Kenyan citizen who travelled back to Nairobi returning from the United States of America via London, United Kingdom on the 5th March 2020. She was confirmed positive by the National Influenza Centre Laboratory at the National Public Health Laboratories of the Ministry of Health. The patient is clinically stable, and is being managed at the Infectious Diseases Unit at the Kenyatta National Hospital.
A statement from the ministry said that, the Government of Kenya, through the Ministry of Health, continues to strengthen measures to ensure no further transmission of the disease in Kenya. The National Emergency Response Committee on Coronavirus preparedness and response will continue to provide strategic leadership working through whole Government approach to respond to this case in the implementation of mitigation measures.
Mutahi Kagwe, Cabinet Secretary said that, “I wish to assure all Kenyans that we have been beefing up our preparedness capacities since the first confirmed cases in China. The Government will use all the available resources to respond to this case.”
Kenya says they have traced all the contacts of the patient since her arrival in the country. Kenyans are reminded that most people who become infected may experience only mild illness and recover easily, but the disease can be more severe in others, especially the elderly and persons with other chronic illnesses.
