Relief for Kenya as the US Eases Covid-19 Travel Restrictions

The United States has eased travel restrictions on Kenya following a decline in Covid-19 infections in the country.

In what offers a major boost to the country’s tourism sector that has been reeling from the effects of the pandemic, the US has downgraded Kenya’s Covid-19 alert to Level One from Level Three, which requires US nationals to avoid all non-essential travel to a destination and reconsider any planned travel.

The move is expected to boost summer bookings from the US, which accounts for the largest share of foreign tourists to Kenya.

Last year, Kenya registered a 34.76 percent growth in the number of international visitor arrivals that stood at 870,465, as compared to 567,848 in 2020.

136,981 tourists arrived from the US followed by Uganda (80,067), Tanzania (74,051), the UK (53,264), and India (42,159).

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) was the major point of entry with 644,194 ahead of Moi International Airport (48,749), and others (177,522).

The move by the US to downgrade Kenya to level one follows a sharp decline in Covid-19 cases and admissions in the past few months.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 1 Travel Health Notice for Kenya, indicating a low level of Covid-19 in the country,” says the US embassy in Nairobi. 

“Your risk of contracting Covid-19 and developing severe symptoms may be lower if you are fully vaccinated with an FDA authorized vaccine.”

The decline prompted the Ministry of Health to ease and lift most Covid-19 restrictions and requirements, including the mandatory wearing of face masks in open places and quarantine measures.

Kenya’s positivity rate stood at 0.3 percent on Monday compared to a peak of 37.6 percent on December 27th last year. So far, about 7.93 million Kenyans have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19.