Two Italians denied entry into Kenya over Coronavirus fears

Two Italians were on Monday night denied entry into the country over Coronavirus fears.

The two were among the over 70 passengers aboard an Ethiopian Airlines plane from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. They were not allowed to disembark at Moi International Airport, Mombasa.

According to officials, the two were aboard flight E22 and their origin was from Italy and that is why they were not allowed to disembark. However, all the other passengers were screened and allowed in but asked to self-quarantine for two weeks.

"The two were denied entry after it emerged that they came from Italy. They were later deported to Addis Ababa," Mombasa County Commissioner, Gilbert Kitiyo said.

He added that the details of the other passengers were taken and that medical and security officers are monitoring them. He did not, however, reveal their nationalities.

"The other passengers did not show any symptoms of the virus but we had to advise them to self-quarantine."

Italy is one of the countries hardest hit by Coronavirus. On Tuesday, the European country reported 345 new Coronavirus deaths over the last 24 hours taking its total death toll to 2,503 - an increase of 16 percent, according to the World Health Organisation.

The total number of cases in Italy rose to 31,506 from a previous 27,980, up to 12.6 percent - the slowest rate of increase since the contagion came to light on February 21.

On Sunday, President Uhuru Kenyatta unveiled a series of strict measures to curb the spread of Coronavirus in the country.

One of the measures was a ban on foreigners from countries that have confirmed Coronavirus cases.

The government has suspended travel for all passengers coming into Kenya from any country with reported Coronavirus cases.

All other passengers will be subjected to physical and temperature screening on arrival at all ports of entry into Kenya.

Only Kenyan citizens and foreigners with valid residence will be permitted to enter the country.

This directive will remain in effect for the next 30 days.

Globally, the virus has infected 184,976 people and killed just over 7,500, according to the WHO. Almost 80,000 people have recovered from the infection, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.