BY MARY WANJIRU.
The High Court has directed the government not to allow Chinese into the county at any port of entry over the outbreak of Corona virus.
In the order, the court said no one from the Asian country should be allowed in either by air, sea or land. The order also bars entry of persons from countries that have been designated as hotspots by the World Health Organisations (WHO).
Justice James Makau suspended the government’s decision to allow resumption of non-essential flights from China, pending the hearing of three cases filed by Law Society of Kenya and two Kenyan doctors.
“Conservatory Orders be and are hereby issued to prevent the Respondents from letting into the country by air, sea and land any persons from China and or any other World Health Organisation (WHO)-designated hotspot country that is adversely affected by Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, pending the hearing and determination of this Application”, Judge Makau ordered.
The Judge further issued an order compelling Health CS Sicily Kariuki to prepare and present to court the scrutiny contingency plan on prevention, surveillance, control and response systems to corona virus (COVID19) outbreak in Kenya.
The Judge further ordered the ministry to trace and confine the 239 Chinese who arrived in the country and confine them.
“An Order compelling be and is hereby issued to the Respondents to forthwith trace, account, re-examine, confine and quarantine in a KDF facility and or a specially guarded medical facility, all the 239 passengers that they let into the country 239 aboard a Chinese flight CZ 6043, which landed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on 26th February, 2020 at 7:29 am, until they are duly certified to be free from Coronavirus (COVID-19), pending the hearing and determination of this matter”, the learned judge further ordered.
Three petitions were filed separately on Friday by LSK, two doctors and a lawyer over coronavirus threat.
CS Kariuki, the outgoing health CS as well as her counterparts in Interior Fred Matiang’i, James Macharia (Transport), the Kenya Airports Authority, Attorney General Paul Kihara and the China Southern Airlines have been named as respondents in the suits.
LSK said there was a global health crisis, which had forced countries to take precaution by blocking Chinese aircrafts from accessing their airports, and Kenya should not be an exemption.
The LSK accused Kariuki of failing to disseminate to the public information pertaining to the risks, protection measures, signs and symptoms, responses or health facilities to report cases of persons suspected of the infection.
Dr.Joseph Mithika Mwenda Mzalendo and Dr Thiankunu Cyprian Mwirabua stated that the Chinese Embassy confirmed there will be more flights arriving at JKIA over the coming weekend amidst concerns of Corona Virus outbreak.
“The respondent’s decision has caused citizens great anxiety, psychological, mental and emotional trauma,” they said in court documents.
They argue that the government’s decision to merely advise passengers to self-quarantine themselves is high negligence, recklessness, careless and outrageous.
“The cabinet secretaries have not put measures to monitor, track and ensure that the said passengers have self-quarantined,” they submitted.
They also argued that the government have publicly admitted that they took many days to test several suspected cases including referring and waiting for results of the same from South Africa.
According to the two doctors, Kenya lacks capacity to contain outbreak of the said virus therefore the best remedy is to put in place strict measures restricting entry into the country through air, land or sea any passengers originating from China and any other WGO-designated hotspot.
James Kouna, a lawyer in a separate suit wants the government compelled to round up and quarantine the 239 passengers who arrived through China Southern Airline flight on February 26, 2020.
“The decision to allow China Southern Airline to operate up to 25 March is to expose members of the pubic to a global epidemic and is in blatant violation of the constitution,” he argued.
