Kenya asks Saudi Arabia to review its Ebola ban on visas and arrivals from Kenya

Kenya's Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs has asked Saudi Arabia to review its suspension of visas and arrivals from Kenya, calling the measures "disproportionate and not supported by scientific health evidence". The request is in a diplomatic note dated 30 October, The Star reported on 31 October.

Saudi Arabia announced on 30 October that it was suspending visas and arrivals from Kenya to stop Ebola spreading. The restriction bars anyone who has been in Kenya in the previous 21 days. The ministry said it affects Kenyan pilgrims, workers, students and businesses, as well as trade and tourism ties.

Fica News looked at whether such bans work in an explainer on 31 October, "Do travel bans like Saudi Arabia's on Kenya stop Ebola from spreading?".

The Ministry of Health's account of the Saudi measures is more detailed. Citizen Digital, quoting that statement, reported that Saudi Arabia has suspended travel by its own citizens to Kenya and stopped issuing all visa categories for people arriving from Kenya. Travellers who came directly from Kenya, or through third countries, are barred if they were in Kenya or another country with an active Ebola outbreak in the 21 days before arrival.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said in that statement that Kenya had "noted with concern" the measures, which he called excessive and not supported by Kenya's epidemiological situation. He said the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs would keep engaging Saudi Arabia.

The note says Kenya acknowledges Saudi Arabia's right to take public health measures. It describes suspending visas and barring anyone who has been in Kenya in the last 21 days as "a blanket, punitive measure".

The note puts Kenya's outbreak at nine confirmed cases, all in one cluster linked to an imported case reported on 6 October, KBC reported. It says every secondary case was already in quarantine when the person fell ill, and that there is no community transmission. The Ministry of Health said two of the nine have died, including the first patient, and seven remain under care. Five of them have tested negative once, face a second test on 2 November and are expected to be discharged on 3 November if it is clear.

All 135 contacts have been traced and monitored daily, and the Ministry of Health said 118 were placed in quarantine. The first group finished 21 days of quarantine and was discharged on 26 October. Another 46 contacts are due to complete quarantine on 3 November if they stay negative.

Kenya also cited the World Health Organization (WHO). The foreign ministry said WHO had assessed Kenya's response as "professional, diligent and transparent", had advised against travel and trade restrictions, and had rated the risk outside the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its neighbours as low.

The note asks Saudi Arabia's national focal point to give WHO the scientific justification for the restrictions under Article 43 of the International Health Regulations (2005). Article 43 allows countries to take health measures beyond WHO's recommendations, but those that significantly interfere with international traffic must be justified to WHO, with their public health rationale, within 48 hours of implementation. The note also asks that the measures be reviewed within three months.

The foreign ministry said Kenya will raise the matter with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) together with other affected African countries. It described restrictions without scientific backing as a potentially hostile act against the continent. Kenya has offered Saudi Arabia's Public Health Authority a detailed technical briefing.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health announced on 25 June a suspension of travel by Saudi citizens to the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan, with all visa types paused and entry barred for travellers from those countries, including people who had been in one of them within the previous 21 days. Kenya was not on that list. Kenya's Ministry of Health announced its first confirmed Ebola case on 6 October.