Kenya women's national volleyball team ‘Malkia Strikers’ won't be making their much-hyped trip to Brazil after all.
The government, through the Ministry of Health, said on Saturday they had cancelled the team’s 45-day high-performance training camp in Sao Paulo, citing fear over the spike in Covid-19 infections in Brazil.
By Wednesday, statistics revealed that infections in the South American country had hit the 14.6 million mark with 401,000 deaths so far.
In a letter signed by the Acting Director-General for Health, Patrick Amoth and addressed to Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) Secretary-General Ben Juma, the ministry prevailed upon the federation to shelve the planned trip while they continued to monitor the situation.
“The ministry notes that Brazil is currently experiencing widespread community transmission of Covid-19 with a surge in cases and death in the past few weeks.
“A review of the epidemiologic situation in Brazil indicates that the current surge in cases may persist for several weeks,” the letter said.
“In view of the above and in securing the health of the national team in preparation for the Olympics, the Ministry of Health urges the federation to defer the intended travel and training in Brazil until the situation stabilizes.
“The Ministry of Sports copied in this letter may wish to advise on a mechanism of facilitating such training in-country, utilising equivalently qualified coaches sourced locally or abroad.”
