The aviation regulator has revealed that Dubai banned all inbound and transit passenger flights from Kenya because travellers from Nairobi were testing positive for Covid-19 after arrival in the Middle East nation, despite carrying negative test results.

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) director-general Gilbert Kibe told the Business Daily Wednesday that the scheme involved a racket of corrupt officials from Ministry of Health who colluded with travellers to issue fake Covid-19 PCR results to aid travel to Dubai.

The Ministry of Health has however launched a probe on the matter with a view to bring to book health officials who were involved in the shoddy deal that has cost Kenya millions of shillings in lost passenger revenues.

“They banned flights from Kenya due to many false negative Covid-19 PCR results,” said Mr Kibe Wednesday.

“Ministry of Health is investigating and will report findings soon. Several other African countries were red listed as well.”

Mr Kibe said that Dubai had no option but to ban passenger flights from Kenya because in a single day they could detect up to 20 “false negative Covid tests.”

The situation, he said, went out of hand the moment health officials in the Middle East nation detected up to 73 cases of Covid-19 negative tests that were fake.

He said that a thorough probe on issuance of the fake Covid-19 clearance documents is underway by the Ministry of Health and that all culprits will be brought to book. “Yes, culprits shall be apprehended after investigations,” said Mr Kibe.

The Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) announced a 48-hour suspension on all flights from Kenya to the Middle East nation on December 20, 2021.

On December 29, 2021, Emirates Airline said it had, in turn, extended its suspension of flights from Kenya to comply with the directive that was to end on December 24 until further notice. However, the Kenyan suspension did not affect cargo freights and passenger flights from Dubai to Nairobi.

The extension of suspension of all inbound and transit passenger flights from Kenya came barely a few days after Kenya Airways (KQ) suspended passenger flights to Dubai following the flights ban by the Middle East country amid a surge in Covid-19 cases in Kenya.

The national carrier said it would refund passengers who had booked for travel within the suspension period. The travellers will also be allowed to rebook when flights resume, said KQ.

The temporary suspension of operations came barely a few days after Dubai introduced new travel requirements for those coming on direct flights from Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia.

Under the new measures, travellers from Africa to Dubai were required to provide a report on a rapid PCR test conducted at the departure airport six hours before leaving for Dubai. It is in addition to a negative Covid-19 test certificate issued within 48 hours of arrival in Dubai. Passengers, including those on transit, under the new measures, will undergo a PCR test upon arrival in Dubai and self-quarantine until a negative test result is out. Applying to both passengers terminating their journey and those transiting through Dubai, the rules are expected to affect Africans, most of whom prefer Dubai as a transit point due to its interconnectivity and the lower fares charged by Emirates Airlines.

The report comes at a time Kenya has recorded a sharp increase in cases of Covid-19 infections in recent months, while the number of admissions in health facilities is also increasing.

Positivity rate — the proportion of positive tests — climbed sharply by a double-digit from last month, raising concerns among health officials.

It increased from a low of 0.5 percent in October to 22.6 percent as at January 4 as the government stepped up testing and vaccination. By January 4, Kenya had vaccinated 10.13 million people, 4.22 million fully, up from 746,267 on August 14 while the number of those who have received the first jab has jumped to 5.87 million from two million over the same period.

Source: Business Daily

Unvaccinated Emirati citizens will not be allowed to travel outside the UAE from January 10, 2022, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.

The new decision has been taken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in coordination with the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA).

The move comes after to the rapid increase in global COVID-19 infections and to maintain the health and safety of the UAE people.

The ministry stressed that vaccinated citizens will have to take the booster dose in order to be able to travel.

However, those excluded from the vaccination due to medical reasons and humanitarian cases and those seeking treatment abroad will be exempted.

Source: Gulf News

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced that it will shorten the recommended isolation time for asymptomatic people who test positive for COVID-19.

The announcement, made on December 27, 2021, comes after growing pressure from various industries, one of them being the US airline industry, to shorten quarantine periods to avoid disruption in the workforce operations.

Airlines for America, which represents Southwest, American, United, Delta, and other major airlines, have asked the CDC to reduce quarantine period as the current quarantine guidelines could cause labor shortages.

In its announcement, the CDC said the change in guidelines is “motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness.”

Previously, the CDC has recommended 10 days for isolation period to those who are COVID-19 positive. With the updated guidelines, the agency now advises those who test positive to isolate for just five as long as they are asymptomatic, and then wear a mask for another five days. The policy is the same regardless of vaccination status.

For those who have had exposure to COVID-19 and are unvaccinated or have not had a booster shot for more than 6 months,  the CDC now recommends a quarantine period of 5 days followed by strict mask use for an additional 5 days. Alternatively, if a 5-day quarantine is not feasible, it is imperative that an exposed person wears a well-fitting mask at all times when around others for 10 days after exposure.

Vaccinated individuals who’ve had exposure do not need to quarantine but are required to wear a mask when with others for 10 days.

The Omicron variant is spreading quickly and has the potential to impact all facets of our society. CDC’s updated recommendations for isolation and quarantine balance what we know about the spread of the virus and the protection provided by vaccination and booster doses,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement.

“These updates ensure people can safely continue their daily lives. Prevention is our best option: get vaccinated, get boosted, wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial and high community transmission, and take a test before you gather.”

Airlines for America believe that shortened quarantine periods may help reduce disruption in the workforce, similar to the massive flight delays and cancellations that occurred over the Christmas weekend.

“As with healthcare, police, fire and public transportation workforces, the Omicron surge may exacerbate personnel shortages and create significant disruptions to our workforce and operations,” Airlines for America CEO Nicholas Calio said in a letter to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.

The full CDC guidelines for quarantine and isolation can be viewed here. 

Source: AeroTime Hub

Britain will end a ban on visitors from 11 African countries aimed at combatting COVID-19, the government said Tuesday, despite an alarming spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.

After the variant was first detected in southern Africa and Hong Kong in November, the British government compiled a travel “red list” of the 11 African nations later in the month.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced in parliament Tuesday that the ban would be lifted on Wednesday at 0400 GMT since the country had achieved community transmission of omicron.

“Now that there is community transmission of omicron in the U.K. and Omicron has spread so widely across the world, the travel red list is now less effective in slowing the incursion of omicron from abroad,” he said.

While the ban remains in effect, only British citizens or residents arriving from the listed countries are allowed to enter the U.K. on condition they quarantine in a hotel at their expense.

The countries on the list are Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Javid said Monday that omicron, which is more transmissible than earlier variants, would be dominant in London “within 48 hours.” U.K. health authorities say omicron infections are doubling every two to three days, amounting to about 200,000 new cases daily.

South African scientists say the health effects of omicron may be less severe than the delta variant but warn it is premature to reach conclusions.

Source: VOA

Kenya has detected at least three cases of the new Omicron variant first detected in South Africa last month.

Health CS Mutahi Kagwe on Wednesday said the cases were detected among travellers.

Last week, Uganda announced it had detected cases of the Omicron Covid-19 variant in travellers coming into the country, the first infections to be reported in East Africa.

The cases were detected in people screened at Entebbe International Airport who flew in from five different countries, Ugandan medical authorities said in a statement.

Five had come from Nigeria, two from South Africa — where the variant was first reported — and two from the United Arab Emirates. 

On Tuesday, results of a study published in South Africa showed two shots of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine offers around 70 percent protection against severe disease from Omicron.  

The emergence of the highly mutated variant sparked fears that it could cause severe disease, be more contagious or could evade vaccines. 

Early indicators suggest that it could be more transmissible, but promising data so far has suggested that vaccines still offer protection against Omicron. 

“The double dose of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine showing 70 percent effectiveness in reducing risk of hospitalisation,” said Ryan Noach, the head of South Africa’s leading private health insurance company, Discovery, which co-led the study. 

Two doses of the vaccine offered 93 percent protection against earlier variants, according to the companies.   

The study was based on the results of 78,000 PCR tests taken in South Africa between November 15 and December 7 and was conducted by Discovery along with the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC). 

“We are extremely encouraged by the results,” said SAMRC head Glenda Gray. 

But Noach warned that despite the protection offered by two doses, hospitals could still be overrun since Omicron is spreading rapidly in South Africa. 

Source: The Star

Kenya will not impose restrictions such as lockdowns following the discovery of new Omicron Covid-19 variant cases among two Kenyan travellers and a South African who entered the country last week.

Health Cabinet secretary Mutahi Kagwe said Kenya has instead rooted for vaccinating its citizens in a bid to curb the spread of the variant in Kenya.

“We are not going to announce lockdowns and new curfew measures soon. The only way to avoid another lockdown is vaccination,” he said yesterday.

The announcement comes hours after he had said there were no new variant cases in the country despite rising coronavirus cases.

The positivity rate in Kenya has been increasing with 799 new Covid-19 cases reported yesterday alone, the highest number recorded in a day in recent months.

Data from the Health ministry shows that the positivity rate — the proportion of tests coming back positive — rose to 10.5 percent yesterday from 6.5 on Monday amid the emergence of the infectious Omicron variant.

Total confirmed positive cases are now 257,614 and cumulative tests so far conducted are 2,902,294.

The Omicron variant, which scientists say has a high number of mutations, was first detected in South Africa last month.

Cases have also been reported in travellers in Belgium, Israel and Hong Kong, among other nations.

The variant has prompted coutries such as Israel and United Arab Emirates to impose travel bans on several southern African countries against the advice of the World Health Organisation.

On Monday, operator of Ghana’s Kotoka International Airport in Accra announced it will fine airlines $3,500 for every passenger they fly in who is not vaccinated against Covid-19 or who tests positive for the coronavirus upon arrival.

Kenya’s economy, like others, has been hit by the pandemic, as Covid-19 restrictions reduced revenues and stifled growth.

Economic output contracted for the first time in nearly three decades last year, pummelled by the impact of the coronavirus crisis on key sectors such as tourism.

Source: Business Daily

While travel insurance did not help travelers when the pandemic hit in 2020, policies now treat COVID-19 the same as any other medical condition. Carol Mueller, a vice president at Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection, told The New York Times that fear of the virus is not a reimbursable claim, but illness is. 

“If you become ill before your trip, you’ll need a doctor’s note confirming your illness and that you are unable to travel to be eligible for benefits,” she said. “The benefits are the same regardless of whether you contract omicron, another variant of COVID, or any illness for that matter.”

Most policies do not offer coverage if a foreign destination closes its borders to visitors, as Israel did recently. A few exceptions also go for a government-issued travel warning to a destination, which is generally not a covered reason to make a claim.

“When people deal with me to plan their travel, I always explain to them why travel insurance is important,” said Robin Cline, owner of Cline & Co. Travel Consulting in Lexington. “I would say 95% of the people I deal with do buy it because they realize it’s important.” 

Travelers not using a travel agent may add insurance at the end of buying airfare, through their supplier, whether a cruise, consolidator, AAA, etc., or go to various websites that sell direct to the public. A simple Google search for travel insurance will provide endless choices. Cline said people that do their own travel planning typically do not purchase a travel insurance policy because of assumptions their insurance or credit card will cover it. 

“The other thing a lot of people will do if they’re like buying an airline ticket, or if they’re working directly with a supplier or something; they’ll just accept their plan or insurance coverage and take it as it is, not really exploring how covered they are,” she said. “Clicking the button at the end of purchasing is not always the best protection on an investment.”

Travel delay coverage can cover the cost of accommodations and meals during quarantine if a traveler contracts the virus. If travelers are forced to stay beyond their expected return date due to a positive test, this coverage can be extended for up to seven days.

Trip interruption coverage will reimburse travelers for missed portions of their trip if they are forced into quarantine due to a positive COVID test. Cline said it could cover 100% to 200% of your prepaid and nonrefundable trip costs, depending on the policy.

“The plans are tiered like any other insurance,” Cline said. “There are many different companies out there that you can deal with and they all kind of have their own little spin on specific packages. You can buy anything from what we call a zero-cost medical policy, all the way up to what we call a cancel for any reason policy, so your rates are going to vary.”

The “cancel for any reason” policy will return between half and three-quarters of expenses and is generally purchased when people buy tickets or make reservations.

Cline said costs also vary depending on age.

“They’re not going to insure somebody who’s 85 years old at the same rate they’re going to insure somebody who’s 25 years old,” she said.

Cline said she rarely travels without some form of travel insurance. 

“I might do a domestic plane trip without it, but that’s it,” she said. “Let’s say you’re on your way to the hotel, and you’re not going to check in until 10 p.m. and your check-in time is at 4 p.m. If you have an accident on the way and you lose your hotel for the night or something like that, you have to weigh all the pros and cons of that. If it’s not an expensive hotel, maybe it’s not worth it because of the premium.”

Cline said another reason travel insurance has become more critical because of COVID-19 is that the pandemic has caused airlines and resorts to adhere more to cancelations.

“Cancelations have become more frequent, and they’re also running them out a little further as well,” she said. “Whereas it once was 48 hours now, it might be seven days because they need that chance to rebook. I don’t begrudge them that at all; they have to be able to pay their people. I think that there’s a lot of people out there that think the airline should just forgive everything and the hotels and everybody else because COVID is not their fault, but it’s not the hotel’s or the airline’s fault, either. If they’re going to stay in business for us for the future, they’ve got to protect themselves as well.”

Source: Spectrum News