The government was on Monday, March 2 forced to respond after a four-minute audio clip on the global Coronavirus (COVID-19) went viral in Kenya.
The audio seemed to be recorded at a press conference, and a man purporting to be a government health official could be heard stating that there was a confirmed case of Coronavirus in the country, further claiming that 63 suspected cases were being monitored at various isolation facilities.
Government spokesperson Cyrus Oguna, however, trashed the audio clip which he described as fake news, assuring citizens that there was no confirmed case of the deadly virus in Kenya.
“The Government has noted with serious concern the spreading of fake news about COVID-19 in the country. One of the fake news is an audio clip doing rounds in digital and social media of a purported press briefing on COVID-19.
“This fake news is alarmist, inciteful and its sole purpose is to cause fear and spread panic to the public. The public is advised to ignore these fake rumours and only respond to statements from formal Government channels,” he asserted.
Oguna maintained that the government had put in place adequate measures to protect Kenyans from the dreaded disease.
“As communicated earlier, the government has put in place measures to monitor and screen all passengers transiting through or originating from countries with reported outbreaks of COVID-19,” he noted.
In addition, he disclosed that the audio clip had been forwarded to the Cyber-crime unit at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) with a view to identifying and arresting the authors.
“The government wishes to remind the public that it is a criminal offense to impersonate Government officials. It is also criminal to spread such malicious and alarmist statements through social and digital channels,” the spokesperson warned.
The audio clip had been particularly shared widely on messaging platform Whatsapp, sparking fear among Kenyans already worried over the disease.
Angry citizens had caused an uproar on Wednesday, February 26 after a China Southern Airlines plane ferrying 239 passengers landed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
"China Southern Airlines resumed its flights to Nairobi today. All 239 passengers were screened on-board, cleared and advised to self-quarantine for the next 14 days," a statement from the Ministry of Health read in part.
The airline later announced the suspension of their weekly flights from Guangzhou, China to Nairobi on the back of public pressure over the incident.
Government officials were also put to task over the management of the situation with Health Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo appearing before a Parliamentary committee on Thursday, February 28.
She appeared under pressure as lawmakers questioned the government's response to the global outbreak that has so far killed over 3,000 people around the world.
“I don’t have the capacity and knowledge to go into the intricacies of the disease,” Omamo stated at one point.
Listen to the widely circulated fake audio clip below:
