Kenya to Issue UK Flight Ban Decision After Discovery of New Highly Infectious COVID-19 Strain

Kenya is set to make a decision on whether to ban flights to and from the UK following the discovery of a new COVID-19 strain that is highly infectious.

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said Kenya is presently monitoring events in the UK and will announce its decision within the next 48 hours.

Some countries have suspended travel to and from the UK after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson over the weekend announced the country had discovered a mutated variant of COVID-19 that could be up to 70 percent more contagious than the original one.

Consequently, the UK government imposed a two-week Christmas lockdown in London and parts of the South East and East of England to prevent the spread of the disease.

“UK has imposed travel restriction and in the next 48 hours we will be making further announcements,” CS Kagwe said.

“Travel restrictions are on the table. We are observing global trends and discussions are looking at what is going on.”

Canada, Russia, India, Saudi Arabia, and Argentina are among the nations that banned travel to Britain following the development.

Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) director-general Gilbert Kibe told Business Daily that the agency is waiting for a directive from the Health Ministry to impose a ban on flights to the UK and other nations that have reported the new COVID-19 strain.

“The Ministry of Health is seriously deliberating on the issue and we are waiting for guidance from them then we shall act accordingly,” said Kibe.