Inmate At A Vihiga Prison Tests Positive For Covid-19, Four Contacts Isolated

An inmate at a Vihiga county prison has tested positive for the coronavirus.

The prisoner had earlier been held at Luanda Police Station before a conviction that led to his detention at Mbale Prison.

The Vihiga County COVID-19 committee said that the inmate came into contact with four others who are already in isolation.

The four are serving a jail term of between two to twelve months.

“It has been confirmed an inmate is Covid -19 positive. The inmate was brought to the facility on May 28. They (prisoners) were tested on June 16 by prisons authorities,” the committee said in a statement.

Authorities are tracing persons held at Luanda Police Station in late May.

Four days ago, an inmate at Manyani Maximum Prison was isolated following a positive Coronavirus test.

Taita Taveta Health CEC John Mwakima intimated to a local media that the inmate had recently been transferred from Shimo La Tewa correctional facility.

Another inmate, who came into close contact with the patient, Mwakima said, has been quarantined.

Two weeks ago, 31 inmates were evacuated from Nairobi Remand and Allocation Prison and placed under treatment in various hospitals in Nairobi after testing positive for Covid-19.

Over the recent past, the government has freed over 10,000 petty offenders as part of efforts to decongest prisons and reduce the risk of the spread of Covid-19 in the correctional facilities.

Kenya’s virus load on Wednesday surpassed the 4,000 mark after the highest number of infections were confirmed in a day since March.

184 persons tested positive for the respiratory disease, raising the number of infections to 4,044 with 1,353 recoveries and 107 deaths.

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