This archive report was first published on 31 July 2020.
On July 31, 2020, Kenya announced a list of 11 countries whose citizens will be allowed to fly into the country when international flights resume in August. The list includes China, South Korea, Japan, Canada, Uganda, France, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Switzerland.
However, Tanzania, which had declared itself Covid-19 free and opened its airport to international flights, was excluded from the list.
President Uhuru Kenyatta had previously stated that countries not releasing their coronavirus data should not be compared to those that are. He emphasized that Kenya is a democracy where media freedom exists, and the government cannot hide information.
Kenya's Transport CS, James Macharia, announced the list of countries and outlined the protocols that will be followed when international flights resume. He stated that passengers arriving in the country will be required to produce a PCR-based Covid-19 certificate, which must have been done 96 hours before travel.
According to Macharia, passengers who do not have a certificate of tests done before the stipulated 96 hours will not be allowed to board. On arrival, passengers' temperature should not exceed 37.5 degrees, and they should not display any Covid-19 related signs.
Only passengers who meet these requirements will be exempted from quarantine. Macharia also stated that passengers traveling out of the country will be required to abide by Covid-19 requirements of destination countries, and airline operators will be under firm instructions to check compliance.
