Kenya’s health ministry has suspended all hotel-based meetings, seminars and conferences following the confirmation of an imported case of Ebola in the country.
In an internal memo signed by Principal Secretary for Public Health and Professional Standards, Mary Muthoni Muriuki and released over the weekend the ministry stated that it is prioritising emergency preparedness, rigorous contact tracing, and immediate response measures to contain the outbreak and prevent further transmission.
“All Directorates, Divisions and Programmes are directed to operationalise established standard operating procedures for the prevention, preparedness and management of Ebola and other highly contagious infectious diseases,” the memo reads.
The memo said with immediate effect, all official gatherings scheduled in hotels are suspended until further notice.
The ministry noted that any exceptions to this directive will require prior formal approval from the Principal Secretary’s (PS)office.
Additionally, all heads of directorates, divisions, and programmes have been instructed to ensure strict compliance while maintaining the availability of technical officers to support ongoing emergency response operations.
The directive comes as Kenya steps up efforts to strengthen its capacity to respond to Ebola following the country’s first reported case, involving a patient who travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo and later died at Nairobi Hospital.
MG/as/APA