Restrictions over the deadly coronavirus have hit the AFC Champions League
NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 2- Three more people were quarantined in Kenya Sunday, following fears of coronavirus, on arrival from China, officials said.
This brings to four the number of people in isolation wards, since the virus was first reported in China where 304 people had been confirmed dead by Sunday, and more than 10,000 others infected across the world.
Results on the first patient, a Kenyan student who flew in last week, tested negative, said Health Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki.
The second patient, also a student from China, was admitted to the Coast General Hospital with high fever.
“She arrived on January 30th from China through Nairobi and she is a medical student in Guanzhou, Southern Medical University,” said Dr Khadija Shikely, County Chief Officer, Health in Mombasa.
“Shukri is strictly isolated and not even family members are allowed to visit her except the Doctor and nurses assigned to her,” she said in a statement to the media, “She is stable but we can not take chances until we get results from Nairobi tomorrow (Monday).
On Sunday afternoon, officials at Kenyatta National Hospital said they had quarantined two other Kenyans, who arrived from China with fever and needed to be monitored to confirm they were free of coronavirus.
One of them flew in from Beijing and connected on KQ in Dubai, while the other came via China Southern Airlines, an official said, and referred us to the Ministry of Health for more details.
Health Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki has assured that the country has put in place adequate measures to safeguard Kenya from the virus, including how to manage it in the event it is confirmed.
On Friday, the Cabinet ad-hoc Committee on health approved additional mitigation measures to enhance surveillance to strengthen the country’s response.
“The surveillance system remains on high alert at all points of entry and health facilities. A two-tier screening process is being conducted on all inbound passengers and crew at our international airports. To fortify the State’s response, we have also enhanced screening at our border points, and seaports,” the CS said after chairing the meeting.
“We continue to monitor the situation in China and have been in constant engagement with the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, as well as our Beijing Office. The Government has been appraised of the global and regional situation.”
China’s army on Sunday was given control of a nearly finished field hospital that will treat patients.
Some 1,400 military medics will treat patients at the 1,000-bed hospital, dubbed “Fire God Mountain”, which will receive its first patients on Monday — just 10 days after construction began, according to state media.
The official Xinhua news agency said many of the staff were involved in the fight against another coronavirus, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which killed some 650 people in mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003.
Surgical masks are being worn across China as a preventative measure against the coronavirus
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