Gold, silver futures drop on Thursday

International gold and silver prices both dropped on Thursday.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery fell 0.08 percent to settle at 4232.00 U.S. dollars per ounce, while silver futures for July delivery dropped 3.09 percent to close at 66.385 dollars per ounce.

Kenya's health authorities have intensified health screening for truck drivers whose movements span thousands of kilometers across multiple countries, as East Africa remains on heightened alert following the latest outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo).

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the DR Congo had risen to 896, including 232 deaths, the country's public health authorities said Thursday.

Everyday, hundreds of trucks leave Kenya's capital carrying goods destined for Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, and the DR Congo.

At the Inland Container Depot in Embakasi, Stephen Kihima is preparing for another long journey westward. Kihima said he has to take extra caution as he frequently passes through busy border crossings where thousands of travelers and transport workers converge each day.

"We no longer shake hands. We do fist bumps or just wave, but we don't fear crossing borders because this is our job," Kihima said.

Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda have enhanced health screenings, temperature checks, and awareness campaigns at border points. For truck drivers, these measures have now become part of their routine.

"Most of us drivers have stopped eating food in those countries, we move with our own stoves and cook our food, most of us don't go to the hotels to eat. We fear that the hotels might have the disease," Kihima said.

Experts said truck drivers have always been a critical link in regional trade, but their extensive movement across countries also creates opportunities for infectious diseases to spread if proper measures are not followed.

"When truck drivers are well informed about how the disease is spread when they now go to those areas where maybe the disease, where there are cases of that disease of the Ebola virus disease they would also know how to stay safe; how to interact with the population there; they will know what preventive measures to take," said Samuel Njenga, an infectious diseases expert.

Kenyan authorities have strengthened monitoring systems at key entry points and are working closely with regional partners to prevent cross-border transmission.

Mary Muthoni, principal secretary for public health under the Kenyan Health Ministry, said while inspecting the border epidemic control situations that the authorities are going to have weekly briefs for truck drivers at the border point, and continue to provide relevant health trainings.