In this May 8, 2019 photo, a Kenyan professional athlete who admits to doping, warms up for a training run at Iten, known colloquially as the 'world's running capital', legendary for producing some of Kenya's most elite athletes and a training ground for other international top distance runners. (TONY KARUMBA / AFP)

NAIROBI - The head of Kenya's anti-doping agency has acknowledged that it has become challenging for the country to carry out its test program due to the threat of coronavirus.

Japhter Rugut, chief executive officer of the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya, said that they are taking all the precautions to protect the health and safety of the athletes and their staff following the pandemic

Japhter Rugut, chief executive officer of the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya, said on Thursday that they are taking all the precautions to protect the health and safety of the athletes and their staff following the outbreak of the virus.

However, he added that it was hard for them to carry out the number of tests required owing to the quarantine and curfew Kenya has put in place to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kenya has already recorded over 80 cases, with only one death.

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"We are closely monitoring how the spread of the virus may impact the testing activities. Nonetheless, ADAK is practicing significantly reduced testing programs as we look at the national and global situation," Rugut said on Thursday.

Together with Ethiopia, Bahrain, Belarus, Morocco, Nigeria and Ukraine, World Athletics has placed them all in category one. These are countries, according to the governing body, whose athletes are most likely to engage in doping offenses.

"Athletes and their support personnel are encouraged to remain alert and to continue taking the precautionary measures of maintaining basic hand and respiratory hygiene as well as practicing social distancing. ADAK remains committed to working with stakeholders to help our nation through this crisis," Rugut added.

"ADAK is taking all the necessary precautions to protect the health and safety of athletes and ADAK staff members."

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), the independent body formed by World Athletics to tackle doping in the sport, has said that its anti-doping program will be "severely disrupted" because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Under the current conditions of the global pandemic, many of these countries have social distancing restrictions or guidelines in place, these differ from country to country and in turn are all changing very rapidly," AIU said on Thursday.

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"As a result, there is no doubt that our anti-doping program will be severely disrupted in the short term, however, we will still conduct our priority testing missions in those places where it is feasible and safe to do so."

The AIU said it is reviewing its testing plans day-by-day to ensure that it appropriately balances considerations of public health and the health of athletes against the need to conduct anti-doping tests.