Editor's Review

The Ministry of Health will declare the Ebola Outbreak over if no new case is recorded 42 days after the last patient currently under treatment is discharged.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the Ministry of Health will declare the Ebola Outbreak over if no new case is recorded 42 days after the last patient currently under treatment is discharged.

In a statement issued on Friday, November 6, the Ministry explained that waiting 42 days will guarantee that there are no new infections in the country.

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"When the last patient leaves the treatment centre free of the virus, Kenya will begin a 42-day countdown, twice the time it takes for the illness to appear.

"If no new case is recorded in those 42 days, the outbreak will be declared over. Until that day, we must not let down our guard," the statement read.

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File image of an Ebola isolation facility

The Ministry confirmed that no new case has been reported in the country for 18 days. Additionally, a sixth patient, male, has recovered and will be discharged after testing negative and meeting all the discharge criteria.

It was explained that one patient is still under care and is receiving treatment and close monitoring.

Health Director General Patrick Amoth added that the recent developments were because the country followed the proven steps that stop the virus.

"Every person who fell ill after the first case was already under quarantine, which meant the virus had nowhere to go," Amoth explained.

Nevertheless, the Ministry of Health said that Ebola is still active in the region and that outbreaks in one country can quickly reach another.

The government committed to keep screening travellers at all 26 points of entry and will keep emergency operation centres and rapid response teams on alert in every county.

Earlier, the Ministry of Health responded after Saudi Arabia announced the suspension of travel by its citizens to Kenya and halted all visa issuance to travellers from the country.

Duale expressed concern over the restrictions, arguing that the country had made significant progress in containing the outbreak. He reiterated that the measures taken are not only excessive but not backed by the current epidemiological situation in the country.