Kenya imposed restrictions on movement in two of the world's largest refugee camps on Wednesday to prevent a potentially disastrous spread of COVID-19
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th April, 2020) Kenya imposed restrictions on movement in two of the world's largest refugee camps on Wednesday to prevent a potentially disastrous spread of COVID-19.
The restrictions were imposed on Kakuma refugee camp near the border with South Sudan, which has over 196,000 residents, and Dadaab near Somalia, where more than 217,000 refugees live.
"On furtherance of directives to curb the communal spread of COVID-19 across the country, the Government has ordered for the cessation of movement into and out of both Kakuma and Dadaab Refugee Camps effective tomorrow, Wednesday, April 29, 2020," Interior Minister Fred Matiang'i tweeted on Tuesday.
No coronavirus cases have yet been reported in the provinces where the camps are located, but little if any medical facilities available in the arid camps would make an outbreak disastrous, according to Kenyan news outlet The Standard.
The Dadaab refugee camp is currently over 30 years old and is mostly made up of Somali refugees who fled the Somali Civil War, which has been ongoing since 1991.
Kakuma, similarly, hosts over 100,000 South Sudanese who have fled violence from their countries and another 55,000 Somalis, many of whom were born in the camps.
The camps are mostly administered and maintained by international organizations.
Kenya's Health Ministry as of Wednesday has confirmed over 370 cases of coronavirus infection with 14 deaths as a result.
