Thirty-one inmates from the Nairobi Remand and Allocation Prison have been evacuated by the Nairobi County Emergency Response Team after testing positive for Covid-19.
The prisoners, who had been admitted to the facility from several courts, were taken to various treatment centres.
In a statement, the Kenya Prison Service Commissioner-General Wycliffe Ogallo said that the prisoners had just completed 21 days of quarantine when they were confirmed positive for coronavirus disease.
“As part of the ongoing mass testing, 59 samples were collected from remandees and prisoners on May 28. From the results received on May 30, 31 samples had tested positive for coronavirus after which the Nairobi County emergency response team promptly moved in and evacuated the patients to various treatment centres for case management,” said Ogallo.
The Prisons’ boss said that appropriate preventative measures against the spread of the disease within the inmate population.
Kenya has 129 prison facilities spread across the country.
“The suspension of all visits to our prison stations, Borstal institutions and youth corrective training centres has also proved effective in mitigating the spread of the virus to the prison population,” said Ogallo. “
