Sh20k fine or six months in jail for not wearing mask in your car or matatu
The government has gazetted hefty fines for Kenyans who will be found breaking directives issued in line with the Public Health Act.
It will cost you Sh20,000 or six months in jail if you are found not wearing a mask in your car or matatu.
FACE MASKS
When you are in public, other than wearing a mask, you must also maintain a distance of one metre between yourself and others.
“Users of public or private transport and public transport operators shall wear a proper mask that must cover the person’s mouth and nose. Every person who is in a public place during the restriction period (21 Days lockdown in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi Counties), shall maintain a physical distance of no less than one metre from the next person; and use a proper mask. A person who contravenes these sub-rules commits an offence,” Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has said in a Gazette Notice dated April 6.
Police have also been given the authority to detain your vehicle pending your arraignment in court and/or for the duration of the restriction period.
The rules define “restriction period” as the period specified by the Cabinet Secretary in the order declaring an area to be an infected area.
You can also go to jail or get fined Sh20,000 if your business is not providing either soap and water or an alcohol-based sanitiser at the entrance.
“A person who commits an offence under these Rules shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or both,” the notice further said.
The regulations, however, do not define what a mask is even after the Ministry of Health said it was ok for Kenyans to use scarfs due to the scarcity.
FUNERALS
In the case of funerals, attendance have been limited to 15 people and night vigils shall not be held. The dead are also required to be buried or cremated within 48 hours from the time of death.
The Gazette Notice also reiterated President Uhuru Kenyatta’s restriction of movement in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi Counties for 21 days with those allowed to move in and out required to do so under strict regulations.
Motorcycles shall carry only one passenger or goods, bicycles shall carry only the rider and private vehicles shall not carry more than 50 percent of the licensed capacity.
On Monday, Kenya declared Nairobi Metropolitan Area, Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi as Covid-19 infected areas.
As a result, it was declared that for 21-days starting April 6, there shall be no movement of persons into or out of an infected area, either by road, rail or air.
The only exception is for transportation of essential commodities such as food, medical supplies and cargo as defined in the rules.
Kenya has so far recorded 184 cases of Covid-19, seven deaths and 12 recoveries.