Kenya Plans Release of 46 Ebola Contacts and Awaits Test Results for Five Patients

Kenya announced that 46 individuals who have been under quarantine because of the Ebola outbreak are slated for release on Tuesday.

The discharge will occur once the mandatory 21‑day monitoring period ends, provided the contacts remain symptom‑free.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the government also expects five of the seven patients still receiving treatment to be discharged after they return a second negative Ebola test.

These five patients had already tested negative once and were scheduled for another test on Monday, November 2, before a final decision on their discharge.

Recent releases

20 contacts were released on October 26 after completing 21 days of monitoring without symptoms.

The upcoming release will raise the total number of people freed from quarantine to 66.

The Ministry of Health reports that all 135 contacts linked to the initial imported case have been identified, with 118 placed under quarantine.

Kenya has recorded nine confirmed Ebola infections, including two deaths. All subsequent cases are linked to the initial patient, a Kenyan national who traveled from the Democratic Republic of Congo through Uganda.

The eight secondary infections involved four healthcare workers and four close family members of the initial patient.

According to Duale, no new confirmed infection has been recorded since October 19, and there is no evidence of transmission beyond the identified cluster.

The government attributes containment to contact tracing, isolation, laboratory testing, and enhanced surveillance at points of entry.

Diplomatic context

Kenya is intensifying diplomatic engagement with Saudi Arabia after the Kingdom announced travel and visa restrictions on October 30.

The restrictions bar Saudi citizens from traveling to Kenya, suspend all categories of visas for Kenyan travelers, and prohibit entry into Saudi Arabia for anyone who has been in Kenya within the preceding 21 days, even if transiting through other countries.

Kenya hopes the progress in quarantine releases and patient testing will support its efforts to persuade Saudi Arabia to lift the measures.

These steps mark another milestone in Kenya’s response to the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak.