Kenyan authorities officially launched on Thursday, November 12, the regulatory 42-day countdown before declaring the country free of the Ebola virus disease.
If no cases are recorded in the meantime, the end of the outbreak will be declared on December 23, Kenyan health authorities indicated, 37 days after the confirmation of the first imported case on Kenyan territory on October 6.
These details also follow the hospital discharge of the last Ebola patient, after successfully completing their mandatory 21-day follow-up period in good health, and the end of medical surveillance for all 135 identified contact cases.
Health authorities state that the rapid response made it possible to contain the nine confirmed cases within a single transmission cluster, thereby preventing any community transmission.
The effectiveness of the national response and the cooperation of the population were praised during a press conference held in the presence of senior health officials and international partners, including the World Health Organization (WHO), the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), IGAD, and the governments of the United States of America and India.
While maintaining a maximum alert level for the next six weeks, Nairobi is keen to reassure the international community. The Kenyan Ministry of Health emphasized that Kenya remains open for trade and business, tourism, and travel, with no restrictions on movement or public gatherings.
The Ministry invited jurisdictions that have imposed travel and visa restrictions on Kenya to review their measures, emphasizing that the country maintains transparent monitoring and complies with international standards.
Nairobi also specified that Kenya will not serve as a quarantine zone on behalf of third countries and will not issue “Ebola-free” certificates to travellers, as these requirements, according to the country, have no basis in the International Health Regulations.
Finally, citizens are called upon to remain vigilant throughout the critical 42-day period and to immediately report any suspicious symptoms.