The Government of Kenya on Thursday, February 20, offered Ksh1.3 million to be sent to 100 Kenyan students stranded in Wuhan, China.
Spokesperson Colonel (Rtd) Cyrus Oguna stated that the money would be used for the students' upkeep.
Wuhan is the epicenter of the dreaded Coronavirus which originated in China and has so far killed over 2,000 people.
Oguna stated that facilitating the students' upkeep was a safer option compared to evacuating them from China as doing so could increase the risk of infection in the country.
Families of the affected students had appealed to the government for help in a press conference in Nairobi on Wednesday, February 19, stating that their children were 'starving'.
“There is an acute shortage of basic supplies. Our children, brothers and sisters have been forced to live on one meal a day
“My brother is stuck on the nineteenth floor of a building in Wuhan since the lock-down," stated Robert Masinde.
Chinese authorities had on January 23 imposed a lock-down on the city of Wuhan and neighbouring cities in Hubei province in a bid to quarantine potentially infected individuals.
This has forced many people in the cities to stay in their homes, unable to access food and other important supplies.
Patrick Webo, whose daughter is in Wuhan, told reporters that the stranded students' lives had become miserable in China.
"Most of the time they are surviving on very little food. Every time I speak to her she is in distress," he stated.
In a short video that was shared by Kenyan students in Wuhan, they appealed to the government to evacuate them as soon as possible.
“Some of us have medical conditions that need frequent medical attention, but the outbreak has made it impossible to get out.
“I am pleading with the Kenyan government to move swiftly to evacuate us because we’re currently on total lock-down,” one student wearing a protective mask pleaded.
