Kenya plans 21-day quarantine for citizens returning from the DRC

Kenyans returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could be required to quarantine for 21 days under rules the Ministry of Health is preparing, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said, The Star reported on 12 November. An advisory on safe return will follow "in the coming days", he said.

The plan has three steps. Returnees would need to complete a health declaration through the UHAI chatbot before they travel, be screened on arrival, and then be monitored for 21 days, with health teams following up.

Kenya's 42-day Ebola monitoring period has begun. The count started on 12 November and runs to 23 December. If no case is confirmed by then, Kenya will be declared Ebola-free.

Kenya has recorded no new case since 19 October. The last patient has been discharged and the final 11 people in quarantine have been released.

The outbreak began with a Kenyan man who arrived in Nairobi from the DRC via Uganda on 2 October and died on 5 October. The case was announced on 6 October. He infected eight people: four family members and four health workers, all of whom were already in quarantine when they fell ill. Kenya traced and monitored 135 contacts. Two people died, including the first patient, and seven recovered.

Separately, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on 10 November extended by 30 days its suspension of entry for foreign nationals who were in the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan in the previous 21 days. Kenyans who recently visited those countries are covered. The CDC kept Kenya at Level 1, the lowest of its four travel health notice levels.

As of 8 November, the CDC counted 10,990 confirmed Ebola cases and 5,354 confirmed deaths in the DRC.

Duale urged anyone with fever, weakness, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhoea or unexplained bleeding, especially after travel to an affected area, to seek care early. Suspected cases can be reported free on 719.