How Kenya Is Sending Help To China In Fighting Coronavirus

Containing the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus is proving to be a difficult task for Chinese authorities and Kenya is offering them help. Middlemen are stocking on facemasks and thermometer guns from Kenya for export to China.

As the battle against coronavirus rages on, supplies of masks and no-contact thermometer guns have dwindled in China. The Chinese government says the country can only produce 20 million masks a day which is just half of what is needed in the current crisis.

In an effort to help the ailling country, Kenya, where a relatively limited supply of masks are made is exporting these masks and thermometer guns with prices skyrocketing with the demand.

The price of a 50-pack box of masks in the country has skyrocketed from around sh200 ($2) before the outbreak, to nearly Sh1000 ($10) at the end of last week, some have orders have since topped Sh1,500 ($15).

According to QZ, some of Kenya’s no-contact thermometer guns which have also been met with increased demand are made in Kenya, a good number were imported from China only to be exported back again. The average price of a thermometer gun has jumped by 40 pc to as high as sh3,500 ($35) from around sh2,500 ($25) before the outbreak.

Fear of the virus spreading throughout Africa is still high. A number of countries have stopped flights from China and placed quarantines on visitors from affected regions and should outbreak reach Kenya, preparedness efforts alone will not be enough and a lot of shortages will be experienced.