Kenya’s economy has the highest risk exposure to the deadly Coronavirus (COVID-19) compared to other countries in the continent where there has been positive reports of sick people according to a new report.
The report by South African Rand Merchant Bank puts Kenya’s economy at the highest overall Covid-19 risk score of 27 points followed by Ghana with 24 and Egypt with 23.
The reports puts e Nigeria and Botswana as countries with the lowest risk with 11 and 13 points respectively.
The report notes that Kenya tops the list due to GDP growth rates which are below the Sub-Saharan Africa average. The likely impact of coronavirus on African economies can be gauged through the tourism, trade and transport sectors.
The recent cancellation of ships scheduled to dock at the port of Mombasa, is bound to have negative effects to the country given Kenya is a strategic location as a regional transport hub for landlocked Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan.
Should the pandemic not be contained soon, the port of Mombasa will be hit by low cargo volumes as shipping lines keep off due to the worldwide panic caused by the COVID 19 Virus, Mr Daniel Manduku who is the Managing Director of Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) warns.
Kenya, Ethiopia, Guinea and South Sudan are the latest countries to confirm cases of the novel disease. So far people who have contracted the disease in at least 18 counties on the African continent.
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