U.S Embassy In Kenya Cancels All Appointments Over Coronavirus

Appointments to the United States embassy have been canceled after Kenya reported the first case of Coronavirus on Friday, March 13, 2020.

The US embassy announced that appointments set for March 16 to March 27th have been canceled as a measure of avoiding the further spread of the deadly virus which is now in Kenya.

The American embassy, however, announced that in case of an emergency, the US citizens can contact the embassy through the contact information that is provided.

U.S citizens were also advised by the embassy to avoid non-essential travels as it raises the risk of contracting the virus.

US embassy’s announcement comes after the Kenyan Government canceled all public meetings, gatherings in efforts to curb the spread of the virus after it was reported in the country.

In the new directives, the Ministry of Health announced that several measures had been put in place after the patient, a woman, was confirmed positive for the coronavirus.

The patient, 27, had arrived in Kenya from the US through London on March 5, 2020, and she tested positive when she was planning to jet out of the country on Friday, March,13,2020.

The woman was the first coronavirus patient to be confirmed in Kenya and the entire East African region bringing the number of affected African countries to 16.

Since the woman was reported to have contracted the virus, the Ministry of Health decided on the following measures to prevent further spread of the virus;

— Persons with a cough or sneeze to stay at home

— Stay at home if you feel unwell with a fever

— All public gatherings including rallies have been suspended

— All inter-school events have been suspended

— Public transport providers will be expected to provide hand sanitizers

— All prison visits have been suspended

The Ministry of transport, through the CS James Macharia, directed that all Public Service Vehicles should be washed and disinfected daily since they carry a significant number of people, thus the risk of contracting the virus while using them is very high.

In the meantime, the Government is tracing the movements of the woman who seemingly visited a couple of places while she was in Kenya.

The Government urged Kenyans to remain vigilant and follow the outlined safety guidelines to avoid contracting or spreading the virus.