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I know that everyone is having a level of threat for the virus and it is affecting the daily life of people all over the world. We are keeping in tune with the news internationally and locally as well as assessing the situation on the ground with the local people. It does make things uneasy for us, especially since we have three adult children in the Little Rock, Arkansas area. My dad has been in the hospital since Thanksgiving for a brain tumor removal that he has still not recovered from. He had pneumonia last week and had to be intubated again to help his breathing with a ventilator. He was then moved from ICU, because they needed to use the room for a COVID-19 patient. There are other virus patients already in the same hospital. My mom has been staying with him in the hospital. I have told her that she needs to be staying at home when she can.
There has been a new level of travel advisory from President Trump being raised to Level 4. The major points for this level of advisory’s remains:
1. Urges Americans not to travel Internationally.
2. Informs Americans to return if they can.
3. Allows emergency medical travel to be allowed over the next 72 hours.
4. Americans that cannot travel to stay where they are and to not cross international borders.
We don’t know how long this will be in place, and I am sure that it will be there as long as it takes to ‘flatten the curve.’
As far as Kenya is concerned, there are 16 Corona virus patients as of March 22, in Nairobi, which is an 8 hour drive for us. There have also been several hundred that have been tested, but they have been negative. Others that have shown symptoms have come down with malaria and are being treated for it.
On March 22, the Kenyan government has banned all international flights effective on March 25th. Again there is no news about how long this will be in effect.
Other good news is that malaria drugs that are being tested right now show promise of treating the coronavirus are readily available here without a prescription. We understand malaria here that many in the US have never experienced. Our whole family has had it and will have it for life, and even our children in the states have some of the medication.
Tonya has COPD and would be in the category of people that have existing respiratory disease that could cause COVID-19 to be high risk. But as other results of blood types has come out, there have been a lot less patients with Type O blood. Tonya has Type O blood.
We are continuing to monitor the situation globally and locally, and we feel that staying here is our best option to staying safe in this situation. We have been here in Kenya during very trying times of Election Violence, where 1,300 were killed based on tribal ethnicity, and many other riots on the streets. People are afraid here, but they are calm and easing about their daily lives with caution.
Another concern is that of our support to continue with the downturn of economic activity globally, and the churches changing the way that they are holding services. We are trusting that God will keep us safe and not needing to take any extreme action until absolutely necessary.
Thank you for your prayers as we continue to manage our lives and minister to the Kenyan people the best way possible.
God bless you,
Luke & Tonya Shelby
Missionaries in Kenya
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