A passenger wears a mask as she waits at passport control in Bole
International Airport in Addis Ababa, on January 30, 2020, following an
outbreak of coronavirus in China. PHOTO | MICHAEL TEWELDE | AFP
Kenyan students caught up in a lockdown in Wuhan, China, are
worried that the government is not proactive in protecting them, a day
after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the coronavirus
outbreak that has so far killed 210 people around the world and infected
more than 10,000 others a public health emergency of international
concern.
The students, who reached out to the Saturday Nation
on Friday hours after national carrier Kenya Airways announced
cancellation of all flights to and from Guangzhou in the Chinese
mainland, said they were beginning to worry whether anything was being
done to protect them as the situation in Wuhan continues to escalate.
A
number of Kenyan and African students opted to stay in the country as
China kicked off its traditional New Year celebrations. But now,
confined to dormitories to protect themselves from contracting the
deadly virus, they are running low on basic supplies.
“They
are just telling us that they are monitoring the situation,” said one
of the Kenyan students stuck in the epicentre of the virus. “Today we
witnessed students from Germany and Bangladesh being evacuated by their
governments.”
The Saturday Nation is not revealing the identities of those who spoke to us to protect them from possible victimisation.
In
Nairobi, the Ministry of Health called for calm and reassured the
public that the country is free of the virus. Outgoing Health CS Sicily
Kariuki said samples taken from a male student who flew into Nairobi
earlier in the week had tested negative for the virus.
World Health Organisation country representative Rudi Eggers
said the international health agency has been working with the Health
ministry, and that, so far, there are no other suspected cases in the
country. Dr Eggers also said that Kenyatta National Hospital’s
Infectious Disease Unit is well equipped to handle any suspected cases
put under quarantine.
Whereas Dr Eggers emphasised on
the need to have all travellers leaving China undergo screening both at
the port of exit and entry, he agreed that patients who did not display
symptoms posed a greater danger.
“Asymptomatic cases
are indeed a problem. The fact of the matter is that this virus is new
to everyone and it’s difficult to predict the areas of focus. However,
everybody is learning quite rapidly.”
Kenya Airways’
suspension of flights to and from Guangzhou came days after it said it
was monitoring the situation before making a decision on whether or not
to keep flying to China. In a statement, the airline said it had done so
after consultations with the government, through the ministries of
Health and Foreign Affairs.
“Further to our prior
communication, we have temporarily suspended flights to and from
Guangzhou effective January 31 until further notice. We, however,
clarify that our service to Bangkok, Thailand, remains operational,” the
airline said.
The move came barely hours after its
workers, through the Kenya Aviation Workers Union, threatened to boycott
work if KQ refused to stop flying to China.
The
carrier’s chief executive Allan Kivaluka said: “This is very important
to us, not just for the China route, but the entire network”.
“It
is a global issue and airlines are looking at it very seriously,” said
Mr Kivaluka. “We have taken precautionary measures, right from boarding,
to ensure that we do not allow on board anyone who hasn’t been cleared
by the Port Health Bureau of China. So anyone from Wuhan city in China
will not be allowed on our flights.”
China’s delayed
response to the discovery of the new and deadly infection worsened the
epidemic, the most senior official from the city at the centre of the
outbreak said yesterday.
Public anger has simmered on
Chinese social media over the handling of the health emergency by local
authorities in Wuhan, where the virus was first detected.
Wuhan
officials have been criticised online for withholding information about
the infection until the end of last year, despite knowing about the new
illness weeks earlier.
“Right now I’m in a state of
guilt, remorse and self-reproach,” said Ma Guoqiang, the municipal
Communist Party secretary for Wuhan.
“If strict control
measures had been taken earlier, the result would have been better than
now,” he said during an interview with state broadcaster CCTV.
Wuhan
and cities in surrounding Hubei province have been locked down since
January 23, with blanket transport restrictions effectively trapping
around 56 million people at home.
Ma said the restrictions should have been brought in at least 10 days earlier.
“I
think if we had taken measures like this at the time, the epidemic may
have been alleviated somewhat, and not got to the current situation.”
Additional reporting by AFP
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