The student who was put in an isolation ward at Kenyatta National Hospital suspected to have the Coronavirus is now stable, the government has said.
Spokesman Cyrus Oguna said the male student is still however been monitored for further observation.
Speaking in Kitui government while giving an update on the locust invasion, Oguna said the government has deployed state agencies across the country to monitor and surveil the situation in case of any case of infection.
"Locally, the suspected case at the Kenyatta National Hospital is still under observation. The case is stable and is still being put under isolation for close observation. Specimens drawn from him have been sent out of the country for further analysis," he said.
Oguna urged Kenyans to maintain basic hand washing and respiratory hygiene, exercise safe food handling practices and avoid contact with people suspected to be suffering from acute respiratory illnesses.
"Anyone showing symptoms of the illness which includes, fever, coughing, difficulty in breathing and sneezing after a recent visit to China is advised to immediately seek medical assistance from the nearest medical facility for diagnosis and prompt management," he said.
This comes amid reports that it may take longer for Kenya to have preliminary results of the patient suspected to be having the flu-like coronavirus.
It has been said that Kenya has no capacity locally to carry out the test for the virus that has left over 10 people dead with 440 confirmed cases in China.
Health Ministry on Tuesday reported that samples had been taken to South Africa national virology centre but later established that the country could not accept samples from outside its borders.
The government earlier on ordered everybody who arrived from China in the past two weeks to present themselves at any leading hospital for observation if they develop flu symptoms.
The precaution is to prevent the spread of the pneumonia-like coronavirus that, according to the World Health Organisation, had by Wednesday killed 132 people and left 6,057 others sick across the world.
"Anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as fever, coughing, difficulty in breathing and sneezing with a history of recent travel to China is advised to go to the nearest health facility for assessment and prompt management," Health Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki said.
