Kenyans Banned From 31 European Countries Due to Pandemic

File image of a Kenya Airways plane
A photo of a Kenya Airways plane.
Photo/Kenya Airways

Kenya is on a list of countries whose nationals are indefinitely banned from entering any of the 31 European Union (EU) member countries.

European officials said that the ban was an exercise of self-responsibility amid global surges in Covid-19 cases.

The EU on Tuesday, June 30, shared a list of 14 non-member countries whose citizens will be the only ones allowed into the bloc when the external borders are officially opened on July 1.

Algeria, Morocco,Tunisia and Rwanda were the only African countries that made it to the final 'safe list'.

The other countries named on the list were; Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, New Zealand, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, and Uruguay.

Medical practitioners at a Coronavirus isolation and treatment facility in Mbagathi District Hospital on Friday, March 6, 2020.
Medical practitioners at a Coronavirus isolation and treatment facility in Mbagathi District Hospital on Friday, March 6, 2020.
Simon Kiragu
KENYANS.CO.KE

According to the report, Chinese nationals will also be allowed into the EU bloc countries if their government offers a reciprocal travel deal for EU citizens.

The 'safe list' is set to be reviewed every two weeks and adjusted accordingly depending on the latest coronavirus statistics in each specific country.

Kenya has so far recorded 6,366 confirmed Covid-19 cases, as at June 30, from 169,836 samples tested since the first positive case was reported on March 13. 

Health Cabinet Secretary (CS), Mutahi Kagwe, on March 22, announced that all international flights would be suspended indefinitely to eliminate imported cases of the virus.

“All international flights are suspended effective Wednesday the 25th at midnight. The only exception to this rule are cargo flights whose crew must observe strict guidelines", he stated.

However, President Uhuru Kenyatta, on Friday, June 26, hinted at plans to lift the lockdown that has restricted movement into and out of Nairobi and Mombasa counties as a measure meant to curb the spread of coronavirus.

"We are opening the inter-county lockdowns," he stated during a Corporate Council on Africa Leaders Forum. 

President Uhuru had imposed a ban on movement in and out of four main coronavirus "infected areas", including the capital, Nairobi. 

President Uhuru Kenyatta chairing a National Government and County Government Summit at State House on June 10, 2020
President Uhuru Kenyatta chairing a National Government and County Government Summit at State House on June 10, 2020
PSCU