A Kenyan student traveling from China to Nairobi on a Kenya Airways aircraft was quarantined on Tuesday at the Kenyatta National Hospital after exhibiting symptoms akin to those of the corona virus.
The student, in his early twenties, was rushed to hospital by the Ministry of Health upon arrival after being flagged by the infectious disease units at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. He is said to have began his journey from Wuhan, the city from which the virus has sprouted and spread from.
In a statement, the national carrier said, “Kenya Airways confirms that a passenger who travelled on our flight KQ886 from Guangzhou to Nairobi on 28 January 2020 has, as a precautionary measure, been quarantined at the Kenyatta National Hospital.” The airline staff isolated the passenger on the flight and provided him with a mask as per ICAO protocols
Earlier this week, the Kenyan government had advised Kenyans against all but necessary travel to China as a precaution, following the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus that has infected more than 4500 and killed more than 100 as of Tuesday morning. Particular emphasis was placed on the dangers of traveling to Wuhan, the epicentre of the deadly outbreak of new coronavirus strain, 2019-nCoV. The strain had not been previously identified in humans prior to the first reported cases in December 2019.
The virus manifests a variety of symptoms, ranging from mild to severe respiratory illness. People may experience fever, flu-like symptoms such as coughing, sore throat and headaches as well as a difficulty in breathing in some cases.