Failure by the European Union countries to come up with a common list of countries to be banned from entering the block has seen Kenya blocked from accessing this part of the world.
In the list by the EU that was released recently, Kenya has not been listed among the countries given Schengen visas in the interim which would allow Kenyans enter the bloc once Europe opens up after COVID-19 pandemic.
Europe, according to Reuters, is set to reopen its external border in early July.
In East Africa, Reuters adds, only Uganda and Rwanda have been allowed to enter the block while other Western countries such as the US, Australia, Russia and Brazil in South America have also been barred.
On Friday last week, 27 ambassadors of EU member countries held a lengthy meeting to create a roadmap to allow “quarantine-free access from next Wednesday.”
“A redrawn text of 10-20 countries was put to them, but many said they needed to consult first with their governments, diplomats said,” an article published by Reuters read.
The meeting went on till late in the night where 54 countries across the world were drafted to be granted access to the block.
Countries granted access are said to have a better epidemiological situation meaning, blocked countries will only be granted access once their epidemiological situation betters.
EU Commission spokesman Eric Mamer last week said the EU has an internal process to determine from which countries it would be safe to accept travellers.
Kenya’s COVID-19 cases by Tuesday evening were 6,190 with over 100 deaths reported so far.
The Ministry of Health has warned that high positive cases will continue to be recorded in the coming months.
