No Ebola here, Kenya assures UAE travellers

Kenya Tourism Board says government has taken “adequate precautionary measures” and can respond appropriately if a case of the deadly virus is reported.

by

Olivia Olarte-Ulherr

  • Follow us on
  • google-news
  • whatsapp
  • telegram

Published: Tue 12 Aug 2014, 12:57 AM

Last updated: Tue 7 Apr 2015, 8:54 PM

Kenya has not recorded a single case of Ebola and it is safe to visit the country, the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) has assured the UAE travellers.

In a statement to Khaleej Times, the KTB said the Kenyan government has taken “adequate precautionary measures” and can respond appropriately if a case of the deadly virus is reported.

Dr Nicholas Muraguri, director of Medical Services at Kenya’s Ministry of Health, said the country has placed healthcare workers on full alert and have “stepped up surveillance at all ports of entry, enabling prompt detection, notification and appropriate management of any suspected cases in the country”.

He added that the ministry has established a disease surveillance rapid response team, with laboratory capacity to diagnose all haemorrhagic fevers including Ebola. “We are therefore well prepared to identify and deal with any potential cases of Ebola within 24 hours.”

The statement was made following a report by Khaleej Times on Sunday that the UAE residents are cancelling, postponing or altogether stopping travel plans to Africa, including Kenya, due to fear of contracting the deadly virus, which has killed nearly 1,000 people in Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

According to Tarig Musa, account manager of Gulf Reps Limited, Kenya Tourism Board’s GCC representative, there were a “few cancellations” of trips to Kenya over the past few weeks, but added that “as a whole, the effect of the outbreak has been minimal”.

He remained optimistic that the coming Eid Al Adha in October will see a number of tourists to Kenya from the region “due to the fact that it falls towards the end of the great migration this year”.

olivia@khaleejtimes.com


More news from