Kenyans stranded in India since March return home
232 Kenyans who had been stranded in six different cities in India since March 24, 2020, finally landed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Thursday night.The passengers who were caught up in the 21-day Covid-19 lockdown in India landed in a Kenya Airways flight (KQ205).
The KQ Mumbai flight destined for Nairobi from Mumbai had been overbooked. According to Kenya’s High Commissioner in New Delhi, Willy Bett, some Kenyans who had gone to India for treatment with their caregivers had missed seats on the plane.
Only Kenyan citizens with Covid-19 clearance certificates were allowed to board the Nairobi-bound plane.The Kenyans were received by the Foreign Affairs Chief Administrative Secretary Ababu Namwamba and Ambassador Michael Oyugi.
The Kenyans who arrived from Mumbai will now proceed to quarantine for 14-28 days. On May 6, 2020, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe announced that government quarantine centres will now be free.
84 citizens landed at JKIA on Monday, May 4, 2020, from the United Kingdom. More Kenyans will land into the country from China on Friday, May 8th.
The Kenyan government stopped all international flights on March 25, 2020, after Covid-19 cases started to increase.
By Thursday, Kenya had recorded 607 Covid-19 cases, 197 recoveries and 29 deaths. Globally, there are over 3.8 million cases, 270,000 deaths and 1.28 million recoveries.
