Kenya could be declared free of Ebola in the next 21 days if no new cases are confirmed, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale announced on Monday, October 26, 2026, speaking on Citizen TV on Sunday, according to Capital FM and Ricky Media. Duale said the country had reached 21 days of the required 42-day monitoring period, and that the declaration is conditional on meeting public-health requirements and recording no new confirmed or probable cases.

Source: Capital FM, Oct 26

The World Health Organization uses a 42-day period without new confirmed or probable cases to determine when an Ebola outbreak can be declared over. The period is twice the virus's maximum 21-day incubation period, and helps authorities establish whether any remaining chains of transmission have been interrupted. Kenya has not yet been officially declared Ebola-free — the timeline depends on continued monitoring and whether any additional cases emerge.

Source: Ricky Media, Oct 26

Oct 19Date of the last positive case, according to Duale via Capital FM
551 tested, all negativePeople tested in the preceding 48 hours, according to the Ministry of Health via Capital FM
42 daysWHO monitoring period required with no new cases — twice the 21-day maximum incubation period

Contacts awaiting clearance

Duale said people who had completed the mandatory 21-day monitoring period were undergoing final tests and clinical assessments to determine whether they could safely return home, Capital FM reported. "If tomorrow they are negative, the Director General will do the clinical analysis, will do all the protocols, and they'll be safe to go and join their families," he said. Health facilities continued to test people presenting with suspected symptoms, including cases whose initial signs could resemble other illnesses such as malaria, he said.

Source: Capital FM, Oct 26

The outbreak began in early October with an imported case linked to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the wider Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak is ongoing. Reports differ on Kenya's total: the Kenyan Tribune reported Duale saying nine cases in one account and seven in another, with both agreeing two people died. This story does not settle that count — it reports Duale's countdown announcement, which all three sources agree on, and notes the differing case totals as reported. The Kenyan Tribune also reported Duale saying 100 per cent of identified contacts had been traced, more than 26 high-risk counties had received equipment and protective gear, and Kenya now has 21 isolation intensive-care beds, 4,900 health workers trained in Ebola response, 342 first responders and five laboratories, including two mobile units.

Source: Kenyan Tribune, Oct 26

What is solid

  • Duale announced on Oct 26 that Kenya has completed 21 of the 42 days of monitoring and could be declared Ebola-free in 21 more days if no new cases emerge (Capital FM, Kenyan Tribune, Ricky Media)
  • The last positive case was recorded on Oct 19 and 551 tests in the preceding 48 hours were all negative, according to the Ministry of Health via Capital FM

What is only claimed

  • Kenya's total confirmed case count: reports of Duale's remarks cite nine cases in one account and seven in another, both agreeing on two deaths — the total is not settled in the sources used here