From East African airlines suspending flights to China to Nigeria implementing quarantine procedures at its airports, African countries are bracing themselves against the devastating Coronavirus outbreak that has now been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization.
The virus was declared a global emergency early on Friday as the outbreak continues to spread outside China, leading to a concern that it could reach countries with weaker health systems. “The main reason for this declaration is not what is happening in China but what is happening in other countries,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Declaring a global emergency allows the WHO to support lower and middle-income countries, strengthen their disease surveillance and prepare them for cases, James Gallagher writes on the BBC. Many countries that fall into these categories lack the capacity to spot or control the virus, meaning it could spread uncontrollably and may go unnoticed for some time.
“The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa – the largest in human history – showed how easily poorer countries can be overwhelmed by such outbreaks,” he said. “And if novel coronavirus gets a significant foothold in such places, then it would be incredibly difficult to contain.”
Presently, the epidemic has reached every region in mainland China with over 200 people dead and almost 10,000 cases nationally. Outside China, there have been 98 cases in 18 other countries, but no deaths.
While praising the “extraordinary measures” Chinese authorities had taken to address the outbreak, Ghebreyesus said there was no reason to limit trade or travel to China. “Let me be clear, this declaration is not a vote of no confidence in China.”
But many countries across Asia, Europe, America, and even Africa have taken steps to either close borders or cancel flights. The U.S. State Department has issued a travel warning to Americans traveling to China and even companies like Google, Ikea, Starbucks, and Tesla have closed their shops or stopped operations.
Kenya Airways was the latest to suspend flights to Guangzhou in China over the Coronavirus after initially saying it was monitoring the situation. The airline joins RwandaAir and Tanzania’s national carrier Air Tanzania, which postponed its maiden flight scheduled for February over the viral outbreak.
“Further to our prior communication, we have temporarily suspended flights to and from Guangzhou effective January 31 until further notice. We, however, clarify that our service to Bangkok, Thailand remains operational,” the airline said in a statement, after consultations with the government, through the Ministry of Health and Foreign Affairs.
Kenya Airways operates the Nairobi-Guangzhou route thrice a week through Bangkok. On Tuesday, one of its passengers from China was quarantined over the suspected deadly virus outbreak. Similarly, several international airlines such as Virgin Atlantic, Germany’s Lufthansa, Air France, and KLM SA have all stopped flying to China.
Africa’s biggest carrier – Ethiopian Airlines – meanwhile said it would continue flying to China. It serves five destinations – Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Hong Kong. But the airline added that it was working together with relevant Chinese and Ethiopian Authorities to protect passengers from the coronavirus disease.
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