Coronavirus: Kenya becomes latest African nation to suspend flights from cities at heart of Italian outbreak

Kenya joined Mauritius and the Seychelles as the latest African countries to have suspended or banned flights from the Italian cities worst-hit by the deadly coronavirus after most of the continent’s confirmed cases were linked to outbreaks in Italy. Kenyan Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe said on Tuesday that the government and the Italian embassy in Nairobi agreed to immediately suspend flights from the northern cities of Verona and Milan. “This part of Italy is experiencing coronavirus incidents which could affect the safety of Kenyans,” Kagwe said. The coastal town of Malindi, about 120km (75 miles) northeast of Mombasa, is home to Italian billionaires who have invested heavily into the hospitality industry and is a main port of entry for Italian tourists. Italy is at the heart of Europe’s coronavirus crisis, which has caused 79 deaths and more than 2,500 confirmed cases. Most those have been reported in the northern Lombardy region, where a dozen towns have been locked down. France has hundreds of confirmed cases and reported a fourth fatality on Tuesday. At the end of last month, officials in the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius denied entry to passengers from Italy aboard Alitalia flights after some travellers refused to be quarantined for 14 days. Africa readies for coronavirus as Senegal and Morocco confirm first cases The Seychelles, the Indian Ocean archipelago nation, has banned anyone who has been in Italy, China, South Korea and Iran within 14 days from entry. Last week, Tunisia said that it may suspend some flights to and from Italy to reduce its exposure to the coronavirus. All African airlines except Ethiopian have suspended flights to China as a precaution. However, most are still flying to European destinations, including those worst-hit by the outbreak. European airlines, including Alitalia and Air France, continue their services to Africa. Alitalia flies to Johannesburg, South Africa, from Rome and has a code-sharing agreement with Kenya Airways. Air France serves many cities in Africa, including Nairobi, Accra in Ghana, Yaounde – the capital of Cameroon – Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, and Johannesburg. As of Tuesday, there were at least 11 confirmed coronavirus cases in Africa – five in Algeria, two in Egypt, one in Senegal, one in Morocco, one in Tunisia, and one in Nigeria. Senegalese health authorities said on Monday that a French-born resident who visited France in the middle of last month and returned on February 26 was found to have the coronavirus. Nigeria reports first coronavirus case in Sub-Saharan Africa The World Health Organisation said the patient had stayed in the southern French town of Nimes and the southeastern Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. “As countries in Africa confirm cases, the virus is no longer a threat to the continent, but a reality,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “We are working with countries in the region to ensure that measures are taken to contain further spread of the virus.” Senegal became the second country in Sub Saharan Africa to confirm a coronavirus case. An Italian who worked in Nigeria and who returned from Milan on February 25 and tested positive last week in Lagos was the first. In Tunisia, health authorities said its patient was a 40-year-old Tunisian man who recently returned from Italy. On Monday, Morocco said that a citizen who arrived from Italy had tested positive for coronavirus. In the past two days, Algeria has reported four new cases, all linked to interactions with people who had been to France. The coronavirus, first reported in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, has so far spread to more than 60 countries and killed more than 3,000 people. On Monday, Egypt’s health ministry said a second case of coronavirus had been confirmed after a foreigner reported mild symptoms and was in a stable condition in hospital. That day, Qatar said it would restrict entry to all travellers (except citizens) who arrived from Egypt through intermediate stops after it emerged that France and Canada had confirmed cases in patients who had been to Egypt. French ‘corona pizza’ video outrages Italians, prompting apology Concerns have been raised across the continent that several African countries’ health systems may lack the capacity to control the spread of the virus. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director General, speaking on Sunday after the UN released US$15 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund to help contain the virus and the Covid-19 disease that followed, said his biggest worry was an outbreak in a country where health services would struggle to meet the challenge. Tedros said that the funds would help countries to detect, isolate and treat people with the virus and protect health workers. That announcement came as the WHO raised its global risk assessment of the coronavirus outbreak to “very high”, the most serious appraisal of a health threat. Purchase the China AI Report 2020 brought to you by SCMP Research and enjoy a 20% discount (original price US$400). This 60-page all new intelligence report gives you first-hand insights and analysis into the latest industry developments and intelligence about China AI. Get exclusive access to our webinars for continuous learning, and interact with China AI executives in live Q&A. 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