This archive report was first published on 2 July 2020.
On July 2, 2020, authorities in Kenya confirmed that 15 out of 83 Kenyan students who flew in from Sudan had tested positive for COVID-19.
The group of students arrived in Kenya on Saturday, July 1, 2020, and were immediately taken for quarantine at the Kenya School of Government in Mombasa.
According to Dr. Khadija Shikelly, the County's Chief Officer for Health, the students were tested and taken into isolation awaiting test results.
Dr. Shikelly stated, "When they arrived on Saturday, they were all taken for quarantine at Kenya School of Government, Mombasa. We also took away samples for testing."
The students had been stranded in various universities in Sudan since the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020.
Kenyan authorities had closed the airspace for passenger flights on March 22, 2020, making it impossible for the students to fly back home.
However, thanks to the efforts of Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho, Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir, Lamu East MP Athman Shariff, Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa, and Mombasa businessman Suleiman Shahbal, who raised funds for the students' charter flight, they were able to return to Kenya.
