NAIROBI, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's Ministry of Health announced Tuesday that five Ebola patients had recovered and been discharged, while 46 additional contacts had completed their monitoring period and been released from quarantine.
Patrick Amoth, director-general for health in the Ministry of Health, said the five patients had completed treatment and tested negative for the virus before being discharged.
"Their recovery is a tribute to the skill and dedication of our health workers," Amoth said in a statement issued in Nairobi.
Amoth added that 46 contacts who completed their monitoring period without developing symptoms had been released from quarantine and reunited with their families.
The Kenyan official noted that these latest releases bring the total number of contacts who have returned home to 66, following the release of 20 individuals on Oct. 25.
He said the remaining 52 contacts are expected to leave quarantine by Nov. 11 after completing the required 21-day monitoring period from their last known exposure.
"Contacts who complete the 21-day monitoring period without developing symptoms cannot transmit the disease and pose no risk to anyone," Amoth said.
He emphasized that every patient and contact is cleared for release only after meeting strict public health criteria.
Upon departure, they receive ongoing psychological support from a multidisciplinary team of health experts to assist with their reintegration, he added.
The number of confirmed Ebola cases in Kenya remains at nine, including two deaths, representing a case fatality rate of 22.2 percent.
The ministry said no new cases have been recorded since Oct. 19 and all confirmed infections have been epidemiologically linked to a single cluster.
The index case involved a Kenyan traveler who traveled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo through Uganda before arriving in Kenya, where the patient subsequently tested positive and later died.
Amoth noted that once the final patient has recovered or safe burial protocols are completed, Kenya will initiate a 42-day countdown, after which the outbreak can officially be declared over, provided no new cases emerge.
The ministry will maintain heightened surveillance across the country, urging the public to remain vigilant, seek prompt medical attention for any potential symptoms, and welcome recovered patients back home free from stigma. ■