Kenya bans public events after confirming first coronavirus case

Kenya has banned all major public events after confirming its first case of the new coronavirus, in a woman who had returned to Kenya from the United States, the health minister said on Friday.

Mutahi Kagwe told a news conference the government had suspended all public gatherings, sporting events, open-air religious meetings and "all events that are of a huge public nature". He said schools would remain open but all inter-school events would be suspended.

Kagwe said the woman with the virus had been diagnosed on the night of March 12, after traveling home via London on March 5. Kenya, which is dependent on imports from China and other Asian countries, has already started to feel the impact of the coronavirus pandemic with disruptions to the supply chain.

Kagwe warned traders that "This is not the time to make abnormal profits by charging abnormal prices".