Kenyans who break curfew orders to be detained at a ‘curfew breakers holding space’

The Kenyan government has announced that curfew breakers will no longer be taken to the existing isolation centres.

Instead, they will be held in a yet to be named ‘curfew breakers holding space’.

Speaking on Sunday from Afya House, Health CAS Dr Rashid Aman noted the holding space will be set up with respect to guidelines on social distancing.

The National Emergency Response Committee has since directed the Inspector General of police to designate the holding space as soon as possible, Citizen Digital has established.

Previously, Kenyans arrested past curfew hours were being taken to the government isolation centres for 14 days on assumption that they had contracted the coronavirus.

They would then undergo a mandatory testing and then get released based on the results of the test.

The latest announcement comes after Kenya announced its biggest spike in coronavirus cases since the pandemic was first reported.

The tally of positive cases has jumped to 365 after 30 people tested positive in tests carried out between Saturday and Sunday.

Health CAS Dr. Rashid Aman said the new cases are from 883 samples tested in the last one day.

“19 are from Mombasa, 8 from Nairobi, 2 from Bungoma and 1 from Kitui,” he said.

Dr. Aman noted that the two patients from Bungoma are both truck drivers.

Bungoma Governor Wycliffe Wangamati said one of them has been admitted to Kenya Medical Training College while the other patient is at Webuye isolation center.

Out of the 30 cases announced on Sunday, 23 are male and seven are female with their ages ranging from 4 to 64 years.

Dr. Aman also announced 15 more recoveries and two deaths.

Both of the patients who died were from Mombasa: the death toll from coronavirus now stands at 24.

Total number of counties with coronavirus is 16.