Kenya Police on Sunday arrested 39 women of Somali origin after they were found flouting government directives on containment of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The women said to have travelled from the country’s area of Eastleigh to Nasra Estate to attend a wedding and were immediately moved into mandatory quarantine at their own cost.
Police were tipped-off about the wedding by members of the public on Sunday and when officers raided the apartment on Sunday the celebration was still ongoing.
The women initially told police they were few but the number swelled after several youth joined them for the wedding celebration.
Speaking on behalf of police, Wilson Kosgey said the only option they had for those flouting government directives is to quarantine them at their own cost.
On Sunday, the government warned that anyone found violating the curfew order to tame the virus will be put in mandatory quarantine and meet their own costs.
This follows increased cases of people breaching the order countrywide, including incidences where revelers were arrested while making merry in bars and homes.
“Going forward, all those who break curfew rules, will be assumed to have been in contact with suspected cases and hence will be quarantined for a period of 14 days,” said Health CAS Dr Mercy Mwangangi.
The country has implemented a dusk to dawn curfew and cessation of movement in Nairobi metropolitan, Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi counties which have reported the highest cases of coronavirus.
