The government of Kenya has banned export of respirator masks in it’s move to control the coronavirus disease that has it’s epicenter in Wuhan Province in China. The virus has killed more than 3,000 people and infected more than 89,000 people in 58 countries across the world.
Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) chief executive officer Jonah Manjari on Monday said the government placed the ban on local manufacturers and distributors barring them from exporting N95 and 3 ply surgical masks so that the country can have enough masks in stock as an emergency plan.
This comes after President Uhuru Kenyatta’s executive order that set up a 22 member emergency committee lead the country’s preparation plans.
The task force is leading national preparations, county, private isolation and treatment facilities, as well as marshaling both local and international human resources.
“Kemsa has been advised on the types (of masks) to source, the protective gear, and number of beds to procure, and medicines to treat symptomatic conditions— these are products to treat fever, pneumonia and oxygen-for those who require to be put in ICU,” said Manjari.
There have been growing fears about the entry of the virus in Kenya after a plane carrying 239 passengers landed in Nairobi last week. Many countries across the world have suspended flights to or from China, including Russia that has closed its boundaries and restricted its air space for Chinese flights.
