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The British government has announced new rules for passengers traveling to the UK from Kenya.
Through a statement on Friday, the UK said all travelers from Kenya will be required to have a negative COVID-19 test certificate obtained within 72 hours of departure.
“From next week, you will require a negative COVID-19 test certificate within 72 hours of departure to enter the UK,” the statement read in part.
The move follows a sharp spike in new COVID-19 infections in the UK which has seen the country placed under lockdown. The surge was linked to a new strain of the virus that is reported to be 70 percent more contagious than the original one.
Further, those traveling to the UK from Kenya will be required to provide contact details upon arrival to ease contact tracing in case of an eventuality regarding COVID-19.
Over 50 countries around the world including Sudan have banned flights from the UK following reports of the new COVID-19 strain.
Kenya declined to make a similar decision arguing that the UK government was conducting serious screening for both inbound and outbound travelers.
“We as a country do not see any need to close our airspace due to the new variant, in fact, a country such as Britain is doing serious screening so we are not in danger as a country,” Health CS Mutahi Kagwe said last month.
The UK announced it will not allow flights from 11 African countries starting January 9th over the new COVID-19 variant.
The 11 nations include Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Swaziland, Zambia, Malawi, Lesotho, Mozambique, Angola, Mauritius, and Seychelles.