China directs citizens to stay indoors for 15 days

Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Wu Peng. FILE PHOTO | NMG 

Chinese citizens arriving in Kenya will be required to stay indoors for at least 15 days, embassy officials in Nairobi have said.

Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Wu Peng said embassy staff will every morning be calling citizens
newly arrived in Kenya to ensure they have stayed at home to avoid exposing Kenyans to the deadly coronavirus.

He added that the embassy’s visa section was still open, but he did not give the number of Kenyans who have travelled to China since the Covid-19 (coronavirus) broke out late last year.

Mr Peng, who was speaking at a forum with Kenyan editors, said Kenyan students were safe in China, adding that his government had the capacity and resources to manage the public health emergency effectively.

“I fully understand the concerns and fears of families of Kenyans living or studying in China, especially in Wuhan city. I wish to stress that foreign nationals including Kenyans are safe in China,” he said.

Last week, the association of Kenyan students studying in Wuhan asked the government to evacuate them, stating that they were quickly running out of supplies and facing psychological torture.

Deadly virus

“...There is no end in sight. The mental anguish that comes with staying in a place ravaged by a deadly virus is hard to explain. I just want to come home,” one student said.

“My supply of basic needs is running low. Although I can buy them, the prices of most of these items have almost doubled. Recently, I bought two cabbages at 25 RMB (Sh400).”

Ordinarily, he said, both would not have cost me more than 8 RMB.

“Now imagine the cost accrued due to buying them in bulk, including other more expensive food items such as rice, potatoes and tomatoes whose prices have also hit the roof”.