Kenya will not issue Ebola-free certificates or act as a quarantine centre, Duale says

Kenya will not serve as a quarantine centre for any other country and will not issue Ebola-free or quarantine certificates for international travel, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said on 11 November, the day the country discharged its last Ebola patient.

Duale spoke at a press conference, The Star reported. The Standard reported that he said such certificates have no basis in the International Health Regulations. "Kenya will not serve as a quarantine centre for any jurisdiction," he said, as quoted by The Standard and Kenyans.co.ke. The Standard also quoted him as saying: "Travellers from other countries will not be held in Kenya to meet another country's entry requirement."

The World Health Organization's Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO) puts day one of the 42-day countdown at 12 November. If no new case appears, Kenya will be declared Ebola-free on 23 December. "Forty-two days is twice the longest incubation period of the virus," Duale said, as quoted by WHO AFRO.

Duale said Kenya has no patients under treatment, no contacts in quarantine and no community transmission, The Star reported. The last 11 contacts finished monitoring and went home on 11 November, WHO AFRO said.

"The countdown is not the end of our response," Duale said, as quoted by The Star. Surveillance and screening at all points of entry will continue.

He called on countries that have imposed travel and visa restrictions on Kenya to lift them. "Transparency must be rewarded, not punished," he said, as quoted by The Star. The Standard reported that he described Kenya as open for business, tourism, trade and travel, with no restrictions on movement or public gatherings. WHO advises against travel or trade restrictions on affected countries.

For Kenyans returning from affected areas, especially the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will issue an advisory, The Standard reported. It will require a health declaration before travel, screening on arrival and 21 days of quarantine with follow-up by health teams. The advisory has not yet been issued, and Duale urged returnees to comply once it is.

Kenya confirmed its first case of Bundibugyo virus disease on 6 October, in a patient who had travelled home from the DRC through Uganda. Eight more people tested positive: four relatives of the first patient and four health workers. Duale said every one of them was already in quarantine when they fell ill. The last case was confirmed on 19 October. Seven patients recovered and two died.

Ebola remains active in the DRC, with nearly 11,000 confirmed cases and more than 5,000 deaths. In Kenya, people with fever, weakness or unexplained bleeding, especially after travel to an affected area, should call the free line 719. Kenyans.co.ke added that suspected cases can also be reported by dialling *719# or on WhatsApp at 0700 719 719.