The surge of the new variants of Covid-19 in the country has negatively affected holders of Kenyan travellers after Henley Passport Index announced that holders of Kenya’s passport cannot access 54 countries.
This is in the global race to protect nations against new variants of coronavirus.
Henley Passport Index report indicates the number of countries that Kenyans can visit without visa has also dropped from 79 in December, 64 in quarter two of this year to 59 in what it linked to Covid-19 restrictions.
“Borders remain firmly closed in several countries, including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, while many others continue to ban travelers from high-risk regions,” says the Henley and Partners report.
Top the list of countries that have banned holders of Kenyan passports are; Australia, Argentina, Belgium, Cambodia, UK, Canada, Portugal, Denmark, Bulgaria and Singapore.
Others are Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Chile, Czech Republic, Cyprus and Cameroon, which the Henley and Partners lists as the only African country to place restrictions on Kenya.
The counrty has not retaliated against the 54 countries after it left a handful of countries whose citizens need to quarantine before they are allowed into the country in a last month review.
The score measures the number of countries that a person holding Kenya’s passport can visit without having a visa or the nations where they can get visa on arrival or get it electronically.
The Kenyan passport also lost its strength in Africa, dropping from the ninth position to eleven where it ties with Tanzania and Ghana.
The Passport Index shows Kenya ranked behind Seychelles, South Africa, Mauritius, Botswana, Namibia, Tunisia and Swaziland among other African States.
The Ministry of Health has warned that the highly contagious Covid-19 Delta variant may spark a fourth wave of infections in the country over the next two months.
The variant, first reported in India and the first local cases reported in Kisumu, is spreading fast, and now emerging as the predominant variant that is driving the third wave which has continued on a steep curve since May.
However, the government imposed restrictions on movement in the region to try and stem the Western region from spreading nationwide.
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