Kenya retaliates to UK travel ban with strict measures

 

In a move perceived to be a clap back at the United Kingdom, Kenya has imposed strict measures on travelers from the UK to Kenya.

A statement from Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday evening stated: All passengers originating from or transiting through UK airports will now be required to go through mandatory 14-day isolation at a government designated facility at their own cost upon entry into Kenya.

While in isolation, they will be subject to take two PCR COVID-19 tests, on day 2 and day 8 of their quarantine.

The UK, which has red-listed 39 countries, said new data showed increased risks of importing coronavirus “variants of concern”.

Kenya currently has both variants from South Africa and the UK — which are more contagious — circulating.

Kenyan nationals resident in the UK or transiting through UK airports into Kenya are exempted from the new restrictions.

Kenya Airways (KQ) has also added two repatriation flights on April 4 and 8 to meet the demand for travel.

“The UK will not accept foreign nationals travelling from/via Kenya to the UK…..Due to the increased demand for travel to the UK before the advisory takes effect, we have added 2 new flights on 4th and 8th April,” KQ said in a statement.

The UK earlier in the week added Kenya to its COVID-19 related ‘Red List’.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the decision is bound to have deep and far-reaching consequences on the Kenya-United Kingdom trade, travel, tourism, security cooperation among many other sectors.

At the same time, Kenya highlighted that London could have offered to share vaccines which it “has in bigger quantities than it currently has use for”, condemning vaccine nationalism and hoarding by nations around the globe.

“This vaccine apartheid, coupled with reckless calls for vaccine passports while not making the vaccines available to all nations, widens existing inequalities and makes it near impossible for the world to win the war against the pandemic,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said .