Kenya lifts travel suspension on Ebola-free Liberia

The Kenyan government on Wednesday confirmed lifting temporary travel suspension on travellers from Liberia with immediate effect.

James Macharia, the Health Cabinet Secretary, said in Nairobi that the decision followed World Health Organisation’s declaration of Liberia as Ebola-free.

The WHO and the Liberian government on May 9 declared the country free from Ebola after 42 days without a new case.

The secretary insisted that the country would continue to screen all travellers coming to Kenya from Liberia and other countries until the outbreak was globally controlled.

Kenya, which banned travelers from Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia on Aug. 16, 2014, lauded Liberia for the successful containment of the outbreak.

Meanwhile, WHO said it would maintain an enhanced staff presence in Liberia until the end of the year, as the response transitions from outbreak control to vigilance for imported cases to the recovery of essential health services.