The government of Kenya has suspended all flights from India following an outcry from the public over severe cases of COVID-19 reported in the sub-continent.
In his daily briefings on the Coronavirus situation, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe announced a ban on all flights from India for the next 14 days.
This new order will take effect from midnight on May 1. Before then, all the passengers arriving from India will be required to undergo mandatory COVID-19 testing and those that will turn out positive will be placed on quarantine.
India has recently hit the international headlines after being faced by a surge in COVID-19 cases. The deaths recorded in the South Asian Country have also spiked, with the average positivity rate hitting 36%.
Due to the spike in death rates, crematories have been filled to capacity. This has forced other people to cremate their kins in open fields. The open fields used as crematoriums are in various parts of the city, with fire burning at night and all around the clock.
The World Health Organisation has said that there is a different strain of COVID-19 that is currently affecting Indian people. The variant is said to have been reported in 17 other countries.
The spike in infections has also been attributed to booming political rallies in the country. Huge political rallies, including those attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have seen throngs of people not wearing masks or maintaining social distancing.
Several super-power countries have offered to help India as it battles a shortage of drugs and also oxygen.
A statement made on April 25 by the United States government said it was working to immediately deploy drug treatments, rapid diagnostic COVID-19 testing kits, ventilators and personal protective equipment to India and will seek to provide oxygen supplies as well.
