Director General for Health Dr Patrick Amoth has spoken on the possibility of the government imposing a lockdown following the confirmation of an Ebola case in Kenya.
Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV, Amoth said it was too early to discuss a lockdown, noting that the government was currently focused on contact tracing and quarantining people who may have been exposed.
“It’s too premature to talk about a lockdown. Let’s deal with contact tracing and putting people in quarantine; manage them. If we do that, there will be no need for a lockdown whatsoever,” Amoth said.
The Director General said health authorities were concentrating on identifying and managing contacts of the confirmed patient to prevent further spread of the disease.
Amoth’s remarks come as the government steps up measures to contain the Ebola case and prevent further transmission.
He urged Kenyans to remain calm and follow guidelines issued by health authorities as the response to the outbreak continues.
A Kenyan citizen who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for the past seven years was confirmed as the first patient to have contracted Ebola in the country.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the patient, who fell ill about a month ago and was treated at several hospitals in the DRC, died days after arriving in Nairobi.
Duale said the patient boarded a flight on Saturday and underwent normal public screening at the main airport in Nairobi before he was transferred by a relative to a hospital in the city.
