Kenya’s Inspector General of Police Hilary Mutyambai on Thursday 16th April 2020 said that the police will issue free face masks at police roadblocks. IG Mutyambai said that the free masks are donations from county governments and well-wishers. This move comes as the government implements an order to ensure that every person within Kenya's borders wears a face mask as the government intensifies the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The gazette notice to enforce the wearing of face masks gives anyone not adhering to it a fine of Ksh. 20,000 ($188.75 USD) or 6 months’ imprisonment or both penalties.
Since the issuing of the order, Kenyan citizens have been complaining of the unavailability of the face masks while the few available in the supply chain retail at a fairly high price of approximately Ksh. 100 ($0.94 USD). Various government and private textile making companies such as Rivatex East Africa received authorization from the Kenya Bureau of Standards to manufacture the face masks locally. However, the Spokesperson of the Government of Kenya Rt. Col. Cyrus Oguna warned Kenyans to be aware of fake or sub-standard masks sold by fraudsters taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to make hefty profits.
Other efforts to boost the country’s capacity to fight COVID-19 include some innovations from students in one of Kenya’s best institutions of higher learning, the Kenyatta University. The innovators came up with flexible ventilators which are awaiting approval from the Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development before mass production can commence.
However, some Kenyan citizens have been trapped in India after they went to get medical care. They claim that their resources have been depleted and urge the Kenyan government to evacuate them. The Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mr. Macharia Kamau issued a statement saying that it would be challenging to evacuate the Kenyans trapped in India due to the enactment of the full lockdown and lack of means of transport. Moreover, PS Macharia Kamau reiterated that the Kenyans who were evicted from their rented apartments in China cannot be brought back to Kenya because their number is large, approximately 30000, to organize means of transport to bring them back home.
Currently, Kenya has 225 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 10 deaths and 53 Kenyans have successfully recovered after receiving treatment from the various COVID-19 response centers in Kenya.
