MOSCOW, August 17 (RIA Novosti) – Kenya has decided to suspend entry to all passengers transiting or travelling to the country from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, the three nations worst affected by the deadly Ebola virus, Kenya's Health Ministry announced.
“In the interest of Public Health, the Government of Kenya has therefore decided to temporarily suspend entry into Kenya of passengers travelling from and through the three West African countries affected by Ebola namely Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia,” a statement published on the ministry’s website Saturday said.
The ban does not affect health workers fighting to contain the outbreak and Kenyan citizens coming back from the three mentioned countries. Such passengers, however, had to undergo “extensive screening and thereafter close monitoring and where necessary shall be quarantined.”
The measure will come into effect on August 19. It is not clear yet how long the ban is going to last.
Earlier this week, the World Health Organization certified Kenya as a high-risk country for the Ebola outbreak as it is a major transport hub in the region.
Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a deadly disease transmitted through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of the infected. There is no licensed treatment or vaccine for the Ebola virus, which has a case fatality rate of up to 90 percent.
According to the recent WHO estimates, the death toll from the virus has exceeded 1,140. A total of 2,127 people have been infected.
