State told to bring back Kenyans stuck in Korea
A lobby for Kenyans living abroad wants the government to repatriate citizens stranded in the South Korean city of Daegu as the coronavirus continues to ravage the world.
Kenya Diaspora Alliance (KDA) Chairman Shem Ochuodho (right) said yesterday that the lobby group had received letters of distress from an estimated 500 Kenyans living in the country.
“Just yesterday, we received a distress letter from the Kenya Community in Korea, a second worst affected country after China,” Dr Ochuodho said, adding that majority of them are students.
Dr Ochuodho urged the country’s Consular Department in Korea and the Emergency Committee to expedite the repatriation.
“Where possible, bring them home and perform appropriate screening,” he said, adding that they have also received similar calls from China.
“We urge the government to revisit its position to see whether it is not the appropriate time to evacuate Kenyans in both Wuhan and Daegu and bring them home,” he said.
This comes after the Ministry of Health last week assured Kenyans that it was well prepared to handle the deadly virus.
The virus, which originated from the Chinese province of Wuhan last year, has so far affected 96, 268 and killed 3, 304 in more than 77 countries.
The Health ministry has announced that it had set isolation centres at both the Mbagathi and Kenyatta National hospitals as part of proactive measures.
“We have an elaborate national contingency plan and an emergency operation centre that is monitoring outbreak across the world in a 24-hour basis,” the ministry said last week in a statement read by deputy director of medical services Patrick Amoth.
To protect Kenya’s borders, it said it had deployed extra health officials to monitor individuals entering the country’s borders.
On Wednesday, Kenya’s travel industry players said its earnings had dropped by Sh3 billion of last year’s Sh51 billion as holidaymakers cancel their trips.
Kenya Association of Travel Agents Chairman Mohammed Wanyoike said if cancellations continue, they expect the loss to rise to 10 percent of the last year’s amount. “We have already quantified that cancellation of travels in February has resulted in a six-percent decline in revenue,” said Mr Wanyoike.
Ministry of Health last week assured Kenyans that it was well prepared to handle the deadly virus
Kenya Diaspora Alliance (KDA) Chairman Shem Ochuodho (right) said yesterday that the lobby group had received letters of distress from an estimated 500 Kenyans living in the country.
“Just yesterday, we received a distress letter from the Kenya Community in Korea, a second worst affected country after China,” Dr Ochuodho said, adding that majority of them are students.
Dr Ochuodho urged the country’s Consular Department in Korea and the Emergency Committee to expedite the repatriation.
“Where possible, bring them home and perform appropriate screening,” he said, adding that they have also received similar calls from China.
“We urge the government to revisit its position to see whether it is not the appropriate time to evacuate Kenyans in both Wuhan and Daegu and bring them home,” he said.
This comes after the Ministry of Health last week assured Kenyans that it was well prepared to handle the deadly virus.
The virus, which originated from the Chinese province of Wuhan last year, has so far affected 96, 268 and killed 3, 304 in more than 77 countries.
The Health ministry has announced that it had set isolation centres at both the Mbagathi and Kenyatta National hospitals as part of proactive measures.
“We have an elaborate national contingency plan and an emergency operation centre that is monitoring outbreak across the world in a 24-hour basis,” the ministry said last week in a statement read by deputy director of medical services Patrick Amoth.
To protect Kenya’s borders, it said it had deployed extra health officials to monitor individuals entering the country’s borders.
On Wednesday, Kenya’s travel industry players said its earnings had dropped by Sh3 billion of last year’s Sh51 billion as holidaymakers cancel their trips.
Kenya Association of Travel Agents Chairman Mohammed Wanyoike said if cancellations continue, they expect the loss to rise to 10 percent of the last year’s amount. “We have already quantified that cancellation of travels in February has resulted in a six-percent decline in revenue,” said Mr Wanyoike.
Ministry of Health last week assured Kenyans that it was well prepared to handle the deadly virus