Primary results of samples collected from three patients who were quarantined Sunday have tested negative for coronavirus, the government has said.
Two of the patients exhibited high fever after landing at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) from China on Sunday and were isolated at the Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi.
One of the travellers arrived from China aboard a China Southern Airlines plane while the other was from Beijing and had boarded a Kenya Airways flight in Dubai.
The third patient arrived from Guangzhou, China, on January 30 with chest pains and breathing problems. She is a Kenyan medical student; she was admitted to Coast General Hospital and confined at the private Rahemtullah Wing.
In a statement on Sunday evening, the Ministry of Health in Kenya said the patients are in “good general medical condition” and more tests will be conducted in South Africa.
“Following their identification, the three were isolated and appropriate samples collected for tests. The primary results are negative,” reads a statement.
The Health Ministry further reassured Kenyans that the country was free of the deadly virus that has spread to at least 17 countries leaving 304 people dead.
“Stringent measures have been put in place to prevent its importation into the country,” the ministry added, urging those travelling from China to cooperate with health officials.
The Health Ministry has urged the public to:
- Maintain basic hand and respiratory hygiene, and safe food practices.
- Avoid close contact with people suffering from acute respiratory infections.
- Go to the nearest health facility for assessment and prompt management if anyone is showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as fever, coughing, difficulty in breathing and sneezing with a history of recent travel to China.
