By Zephania Ubwani @TheCitizenTZ news@tz.nationmedia.com

Arusha. Residents of northern regions started to feel more heat of coronavirus effect on Wednesday, March 18, 2020 as Kenya moved to restrict entry at the common border in Namanga.

Kenyan Immigration officers said they were not processing entry of non-residents as announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta last week as the country scrambled to contain the spread of the viral disease.

"The ban of Tanzanians getting into Kenya is not only for Namanga but has been effected in all other border posts,” an Immigration officer who did not wish to be named told The Citizen at the border yesterday.

Kenya announced on Sunday that it would bar entry into the country of non-citizens from countries already affected by the deadly disease, except foreigners with resident permits. President Kenyatta who announced a raft of measures in the war-against the pandemic said Kenyans and the foreigners allowed in must agree to be quarantined for 14 days.

Tanzania on Monday confirmed its first case of Covid-19 which have risen to three today, Wednesday, March 18, 2020. Kenya has so far confirmed a total of seven Covid-19 cases.

The Tanzania-bound traffic at the boarder, however, was unrestricted to returning residents, including students and Kenyans and people of other nationalities.


Health minister Ummy Mwalimu, who visited the region to oversee intensified efforts to contain Covid-19 in the region, did not directly comment on this.

However, she was told the majority of incoming foreign nationals at the Namanga border posts were Kenyans followed until recently by Ugandans.

Ms Halima Abebe, from Arusha, was among those stranded at the border due to the slap and frantically attempted to reach out the Tanzanian officials.

"I was booked for treatment at a hospital in Nairobi but has been turned away since Tuesday evening,” she told The Citizen.

Until yesterday, Tanzania has reported three confirmed Covid-19 cases; one in Arusha and one each in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.

The minister called for intensified health checks at all entry points like the border posts and that this should involve all public bodies operating there.

She spoke briefly with border officials at the jointly operated One Stop Border Post (OSBP) on the Tanzanian side of the boundary.

Later, she inspected a planned isolation room for coronavirus suspects at Namanga, some metres away from the OSBP building.

Dr. Gabriel Mdachi, a senior health officer at the border town, said they already have thermo-scanners for preliminary screening for in-coming travelers.

Since early this week the traffic between Arusha and Namanga has declined because of Covid-19, an end result of restricted movements.