Ebola in Kenya and the Saudi travel ban: the facts, and what it means for you

Two stories are trending together this weekend: Ebola cases in Kenya, and Saudi Arabia's decision to block travellers from Kenya. Here are the facts, without the panic.

Kenya's Ebola situation in numbers

The ministry says seven patients are still in treatment, and that several patients and 46 quarantined contacts could be discharged on Tuesday, 3 November if their tests stay negative.

Where did it come from?

The wider outbreak is centred in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has reported more than 10,000 confirmed cases and about 4,900 deaths. It is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a type of Ebola different from the strain behind most past outbreaks. Kenya confirmed its first case, imported, in early October. The other eight cases were four family members and four health workers who cared for that first patient.

How Ebola spreads, and how it doesn't

• It spreads through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of a person who is sick with Ebola or has died from it, or with items soiled by those fluids.
• It does not spread through the air like flu or COVID-19, and people are not infectious before symptoms start.
• Symptoms can appear 2 to 21 days after exposure: sudden fever, tiredness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat, followed by vomiting, diarrhoea and sometimes bleeding.
• If you have symptoms and have been in contact with a sick person or an affected area, call the Ministry of Health or go to a health facility. Do not use public transport, and do not treat it at home.

What Saudi Arabia has done

On Friday, 30 October, Saudi Arabia:

1. suspended travel by its citizens to Kenya;
2. stopped issuing all types of visas to Kenyan travellers; and
3. barred entry to anyone who has been in Kenya in the past 21 days, including people transiting through other countries.

How Kenya responded

• The Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs sent a diplomatic note asking Riyadh to review and lift the measures, calling them "disproportionate and not supported by scientific health evidence".
• Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale called them "excessive".
• Kenya asked Saudi Arabia to explain its decision to the World Health Organization, as the International Health Regulations require, and to review it within three months. It plans to raise the issue with the Africa CDC.
• The WHO advises against travel and trade restrictions in this outbreak and rates the risk outside the DRC and its neighbours as low.

What it means for Kenyans

1. Workers. About 500,000 Kenyans live and work in the Middle East, most in Saudi Arabia. People with jobs lined up there cannot get visas for now. See what families should know.
2. Pilgrims, students and business travellers are also affected. Check with your agent or airline before paying for anything.
3. Kenyans already in Saudi Arabia can stay, but anyone who travels to Kenya now may not be allowed back in until the rules change.
4. Other countries. Watch for similar rules elsewhere. Check official advisories from the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs.

We will update this page as the situation changes.