Africa News of Thursday, 23 January 2020

Source: bbc.com

Kenya steps up surveillance amid coronavirus fears

Passengers at the airport Passengers at the airport

Kenya's ministry of health has heightened surveillance at all ports of entry and screening of passengers for coronavirus, which has so far infected at least 400 people and killed nine in China.

Lots of people travel from China to Kenya for business. Every week, Kenya’s national airline Kenya Airways operates two non-stop flights between Nairobi and Guangzhou.

Coronavirus has caused alarm because of its genetic similarities to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars), which killed hundreds of people globally in 2002-2003.

Chinese authorities have urged people to stop travelling in and out of Wuhan, the city at the centre of the new virus, which has spread to several Chinese provinces, as well as the US, Thailand and South Korea.

The World Health Organization is set to determine whether the outbreak should be categorised as an international health emergency.