This archive report was first published on 28 April 2020.
On April 28, 2020, the Kenyan government announced plans to evacuate over 500 citizens stranded in China, the UK, and India. However, the evacuation comes with a significant cost to the individuals involved.
According to Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Ambassador Macharia Kamau, 300 Kenyans in China and 200 in India will be airlifted back home by Kenya Airways. The flights are scheduled to depart next week, with the first flight from China arriving on Friday.
Unfortunately, the evacuation efforts have come too late for 18 Kenyans who have lost their lives to coronavirus-related complications while abroad. One Kenyan remains hospitalized in Sweden in a critical condition.
For families who wish to bring back the bodies of their loved ones, they will have to bear the costs of repatriation or allow them to be cremated in the foreign country.
A chartered Kenya Airways flight is set to depart from London's Heathrow Airport next week, bringing back stranded Kenyans from the UK. Business class tickets cost KES 96,538, while economy tickets cost KES 53,915.
Passengers are required to produce a clearance certificate from an accredited laboratory facility indicating that they are free of coronavirus. They must also complete a coronavirus quarantine declaration form and undergo a 14 to 28-day mandatory quarantine period upon arrival in Kenya.
