UK demands Uhuru Covid test before London trip

President Uhuru Kenyatta

President Uhuru Kenyatta during a past press briefing at State House, Nairobi.

Photo credit: PSCU

What you need to know:

  • The UK is keen to guard the safety of its Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the royal family who will interact with Kenya’s officials during the three-day trip.
  • The trip, the first President Kenyatta is making in UK in 18 months, comes days after London retained Kenya on England’s “Red List”.

Britain will demand a top mark Covid-19 test from President Uhuru Kenyatta and his team ahead of entering London today after being exempted from the ban on Kenyan travellers.

The Kenyan delegation will be required to take the PCR [Polymerase chain reaction] test — the most advanced of the three main Covid-19 tests which reveals whether someone has the virus very early on in their illness.

The UK is keen to guard the safety of its Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the royal family who will interact with Kenya’s officials during the three-day trip.

The trip, the first President Kenyatta is making in UK in 18 months, comes days after London retained Kenya on England’s “Red List” amid concerns about the spread of new Covid-19 variants.

Travellers arriving in the UK from countries on the Red List are denied entry, while returning Britons must submit to 10 days of mandatory quarantine in hotels.

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