As the deadly Coronavirus spreads more and more in China, we have learnt that 71 Ugandan students are trapped in the country’s Wuhan Province, the epicenter of the deadly outbreak.
Championing the fight for their survival is a medical student that we have been able to identify as Thomas Kanzira, who is using the social media platform Twitter to spread awareness.
Mr Kanzira has, perhaps with tears in his eyes, watched every other foreign national get evacuated by their home governments but for his country Uganda. For weeks now, he has appealed to whoever can hear his cry to join him in creating awareness to ensure that the government goes to their rescue.
The Coronavirus is a deadly outbreak in China that is believed to have mutated from animals and been able to survive in humans, something that caught doctors and researchers unawares.
It was confirmed in the Chinese city of Wuhan on January 7, 2020 and cases have since been confirmed in several other Asian countries, Europe and the United States of America.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared it a public health emergency of international dimensions. Several other countries, some far from China, have since declared a state of emergency in their nations after the virus was reported there. One of those being Italy.
Just weeks later, 400 recorded deaths of the virus have been reported and it could get worse. It was such scare that prompted Kenya to reveal plans of evacuation of their nationals in China.
Kenyan health administrative secretary Dr Mercy Mwangangi told lawmakers earlier today that there are plans to evacuate about 85 students who are stranded in China’s Wuhan.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in constant communication with the 85 Kenyan students. We have identified two holding rooms at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and set up isolation facility at the Kenyatta Hospital. Additional satellite isolation facilities have been earmarked for Nairobi county,” Mwangangi told Parliament.
