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Kenya’s tourism ministry has set aside KSh500 million to cushion the industry against the effects of coronavirus.
In a statement on Thursday, CS Najib Balala said the decision was arrived at after meeting sector stakeholders in Nairobi on Wednesday.
“We have set aside KSh500 million for the sector as part of our post-coronavirus (Covid-19) recovery plan.”
“Part of this money will be used to restore destination confidence to ensure that Kenya remains as a preferred travel destination globally while the rest will be used for the post coronavirus recovery strategy in all our key source market,” Balala said.
According to Balala, the government is taking the Coronavirus virus outbreak very seriously and its priority is making sure that Kenya does not record any case.
“We are prepared and committed to ensuring that Covid-19 does not get into the country, the reason we have formed a task force to coordinate Kenya’s preparedness, prevention and response to the disease,” he said.
“Travelers from all our source markets will be screened before Departure and screened on Arrival, at all border points,” he added.
Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans. Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people. – The World Health Organization.
As of Wednesday, March 11, African states that have reported incidences of the coronavirus include.
- Egypt – 55
- Algeria – 20
- South Africa – 7
- Tunisia – 5
- Senegal – 4
- Morocco – 2
- Cameroon – 2
- Burkina Faso – 2
- Nigeria – 2
- Togo – 1
- DR Congo – 1
The World Health Organization on Wednesday declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the situation will worsen.
“We expect to see the number of cases, the number of deaths, and the number of affected countries climb even higher,” said Tedros. “Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO’s assessment of the threat posed by this coronavirus.”
.@WHO is deeply concerned by the alarming levels of the #coronavirus spread, severity & inaction, & expects to see the number of cases, deaths & affected countries climb even higher. Therefore, we made the assessment that #COVID19 can be characterized as a pandemic. https://t.co/97XSmyigME pic.twitter.com/gSqFm947D8
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 11, 2020
