Government cancels Malkia Strikers Olympics camp in Brazil

Kenya women’s volleyball team's high-performance training camp in Sao Paulo, Brazil has been cancelled.

This follows a directive from the Ministry of Health which cites the alarming coronavirus situation in Brazil.

The team was scheduled to leave for Brazil this weekend for a 45-day training camp.

As at Wednesday, Brazil had registered 14.6 million cases of coronavirus, 12 million have recovered with 401,000 deaths.

In a letter from the Director General for Health Patrick Amoth addressed to Kenya Volleyball Federation secretary general Ben Juma, the ministry advised the federation to defer the intended trip until the situation has stabilised.

"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 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 stabilises. 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 a broad."

In a rejoinder, KVF chairman Waithaka Kioni said they had sought guidance from the Ministry of Sports who advised that they seek clearance from the Ministry of Health.

"We got the response last night that the team will not be traveling to Brazil and in the circumstances, I have briefed the team this morning and the situation was well understood," said Kioni.