This archive report was first published on 16 May 2020.
On Saturday, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the closure of Kenya's borders with Tanzania and Somalia in a televised address to the nation, citing the need to stem the further spread of the coronavirus.
The decision, which took effect at midnight, does not affect cargo vehicles, but it marks an unprecedented move in the 20-year history of the East African Community.
Kenya has blocked 78 truck drivers from Tanzania from entering the country, and the President announced that the number of COVID-19 cases in the country had risen to 830 after 49 more people tested positive.
Forty-three of those detected this week had crossed the border from the neighboring countries, with 14 cases reported in Wajir, 10 in Isebania, 16 in Namanga, 2 in Lungalunga, and 1 in Loitoktok.
President Kenyatta warned that if additional precautionary measures were not taken, the number of people who would get sick and die would rise sharply.
"If we do not take additional precautionary measures and get even more serious in implementing existing guidelines, the number of people who will get sick and die is going to rise sharply," he said.
The decision to block infected Tanzanian truck drivers came as member states in the region struggled to have a common policy on limiting the spread of COVID-19 while allowing free movement of goods.
