NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 18- Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has warned people in quarantine facilities against contravening public health directives saying the government will not be hesitant to take stern action.
While citing cases in Mandera County, the CS said there are people who are bribing officials to aid them in running away from the facilities.
“A number of people are going to the extent of offering bribes to get out of quarantine facilities. This is wrong. In the county of Mandera for example, and this has been confirmed by the governor, there are people who bribed their way out of quarantine. Those who did that and those who let them off will face the full force of the law,” Kagwe said.
He did not, however, disclose the number of those who escaped.
“We are aware that there have been administrative lapses which have been raised. We have listened and we are addressing them. There is room for improvement in the management of quarantine facilities to ensure that sacrifices being made are meaningful. We shall be going around to different quarantine facilities to ensure those concerns are addressed,” said Kagwe,
On Friday, the Ministry of Health ordered a 14-day quarantine extension in five facilities after more positive cases were reported amid protocol breaches.
Kenya’s COVID-19 cases rose to 262 Saturday, after 16 new confirmations. 12 people have succumbed to the virus since mid-March when the first case was reported.
The global pandemic has claimed 154,726 lives and infected 2,261,397 others.
However, 579,187 have recovered.
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