Kenyans have been asked not to panic because of rumours and reports of suspected cases of coronavirus in the country.
The advisory from the African Union comes after the country's first suspected case of the virus tested negative.
Kenya's relative risk of receiving a case of the virus is sixth in Africa, according to a new modelling study produced by the Northeastern University in the US.
“There will continue to be rumours around suspected cases because the initial symptoms that people manifest will be very similar to those of the common cold,” said Dr John Nkengasong, director at the Africa Centres for Disease Control during a press conference in Addis Ababa.
Currently, no country in Africa has an active case of the virus, after a suspected case in Ivory Coast also turned negative.
But Dr Nkengasong said there are “rumours of unconfirmed cases in several countries,” and such rumours are likely to increase with time.
Four students were isolated in Ethiopia on Tuesday with symptoms but the country has not released results.
“This thing is big. I’ve not seen a rapidly evolving outbreak like the one we are dealing with,” he said.
The Africa CDC, headquartered in Addis Ababa, is meant to support all countries on the continent to improve surveillance, emergency response, and prevention of infectious diseases.
Dr Nkengasong also said there could be active cases on the continent that have not yet been detected because of weak surveillance systems in some countries.
Kenya has a strong surveillance system at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, manned by at least 22 health specialists.
