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Coronavirus

Kenya will now arrest anyone not wearing face masks during coronavirus outbreak

By Greg Norman Fox News
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Law and coronavirus enforcement Video

Law and coronavirus enforcement

Police across the country are tasked with enforcing the government's social distancing and stay-at-home orders, but in some cases, has it gone too far? Rich Edson reports.

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Anyone in Kenya found not wearing a face mask in public places during the coronavirus outbreak – including inside private vehicles – is now subject to arrest, the country’s top cop says.

Kenya’s government published a law last week which imposes a fine of $200 and a jail term of six months, or both, for anyone found not wearing a mask in public as a preventative measure against the spread of COVID-19.

“Now it is compulsory to put the face masks [on],” Hillary Mutyambai, the inspector general of police, told reporters Wednesday, explaining how the grace period for residents to acquire and get used to wearing masks is over. “I’ve instructed the police officers to enforce this.”

Priests conduct a service without a congregation, but which was broadcast on television, at the Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Family in Nairobi, Kenya, on Easter Sunday. (AP)

Priests conduct a service without a congregation, but which was broadcast on television, at the Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Family in Nairobi, Kenya, on Easter Sunday. (AP)

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“It is for the good of the people to use face masks,” he added.

The law mandates the use of masks in vehicles as well.

“Users of public or private transport and public transport operators shall wear proper masks that must cover the mouth and nose,” Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said over the weekend, according to the Daily Nation newspaper. “They should also maintain a physical distance of not less than a meter.”

Residents desperate for a planned distribution of food for those suffering under Kenya's coronavirus-related movement restrictions push through a gate and create a stampede, causing police to fire tear gas and leaving several injured, at a district office in the Kibera slum, or informal settlement, of Nairobi, Kenya, on April 10.

Residents desperate for a planned distribution of food for those suffering under Kenya's coronavirus-related movement restrictions push through a gate and create a stampede, causing police to fire tear gas and leaving several injured, at a district office in the Kibera slum, or informal settlement, of Nairobi, Kenya, on April 10. (AP)

Kenya is in the midst of a strict three-week nationwide lockdown that started on March 27 and is set to last until April 17. Like other countries around the world, it has restricted travelers and closed businesses and schools.

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President Uhuru Kenyatta said last week that all movement by rail, road and air in and out of the Nairobi metropolitan area will halt. The country also has a dusk-to-dawn curfew in place.

Kenya, as of Wednesday, has 225 confirmed coronavirus cases, with 10 deaths, statistics show.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.