Nairobi News

HashtagNews

Kenya suspends flights from two Italian cities over fears of Coronavirus


The government on Tuesday suspended direct flights from North of Italy over the outbreak of COVID-19 in the European country.

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe and chairman of the National Emergency Response Committee (NERCC) on COVID-19 said that his team has suspended flights specifically from Verona and Milan to the Kenyan coast effective from March 3, 2020.

SAFETY OF KENYANS

“Following Consultations with the Italian Embassy and stakeholders, the National Emergency Response Committee on Coronavirus has concluded that flights from North of Italy, specifically Verona and Milan which usually has direct chartered flights to our coast be suspended effective March 3, 2020,” Kagwe said in a statement.

Kagwe, said that Kenya will continue to monitor the situation in Italy as it evolves and make appropriate changes.

“This part of Italy is experiencing Coronavirus incidents which could affect safety to Kenyans,” Kagwe said.

On Tuesday, Italy announced that 27 more people have died from the disease as the number of confirmed cases rose to 2,263.

All but one region in Italy has at least one confirmed case of the virus with Valle d’Aosta now the only region without any cases.

SUSPENDED FLIGHTS

President Uhuru Kenyatta, through an Executive Order last week, said the NERCC will coordinate Kenya’s preparedness, prevention and response to the threat of the disease.

The president said the team will coordinate the capacity building of medical personnel and other professionals.

Last month, the High Court temporarily suspended flights from China.

Governments around the world are scrambling to introduce measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, which is growing globally.

According to World Health Organization (WHO) there are more than 92,000 cases which have been confirmed worldwide and the number of deaths from the virus has reached 3,110 globally the overwhelming majority in China.