• Speaking during his daily brief on Tuesday, Aman said they are trying to protect Kenyans and that is why they were denied entry.
• This was out of the 1,516 samples tested.
Image: MERCY MUMO
Twenty-five truck drivers from Tanzania who tested positive for Covid-19 at the Namanga border point have been denied entry into Kenya, the Health Ministry has said.
CAS Rashid Aman said 23 of them are Tanzanians, one Rwandan and one Ugandan.
This was out of the 1,516 samples tested.
Speaking during his daily brief on the coronavirus on Wednesday, Aman said they are trying to protect Kenyans and that is why they were denied entry.
"Tanzania is a member of EAC, we work together and our role is protecting our people. We will continue to protect Kenyans," he said.
"We will continue testing people getting into the country. They are also planning to have testing on their border points. We will also trace the truck drivers from their point of origin."
Aman said a mobile testing lab has been dispatched to the Namanga border.
Acting Director-General Public Health Dr Patrick Amoth said the testing of truck drivers has commenced specifically pointing out those at the Namanga border.
"This leaves out those who sneak into Kenya through panya routes or porous borders. We, therefore, ask Kenyans to report any case to the authorities," he said.
Even as cases increase, Tanzania president John Pombe Magufuli was conspicuously missing in a meeting convened by the East African Community Heads of State members on Tuesday.
Only Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Paul Kagame (Rwanda) and Salva Kiir (South Sudan) were present in the virtual meeting.
This is not the first time Magufuli is missing these virtual meetings in which the EAC discusses the Covid-19 pandemic.
His continued absence has raised eyebrows even as Magufuli continues to downplay the rise of coronavirus cases in his country.
Tanzania currently has 509 confirmed coronavirus cases with 21 deaths.