The Kenya Prisons Service has suspended visits for 30 days in a bid to protect the 54,000 inmates and pre-trial remandees held countrywide in prison lines, borstal institutions and corrective training centres.
Fifty-bed isolation rooms have also been unveiled at both Kamiti and Shimo-La-Tewa Maximum Prisons in wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
"No visitors will be allowed at our 107 correctional facilities as a precautionary measure to minimize face-to-face contact and interaction with the civilian population. This injunction has also been extended to the prison staff," said State Department for Correctional Services Principal Secretary (PS0 Zeinab Hussein.
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PS Hussein said that the Athi River GK Prison has been ordered to scale-up the production of soaps, detergents and sanitisers to meet the increasing demands within the prison industry.
Regular screening and hand-washing points have been set up in the country's 107 correctional facilities.
"In order to mitigate a possible outbreak and control the spread of the deadly virus, the inmates will remain accommodated in their respective blocks, wards and cells as per the current registers without any unnecessary movement," said Mrs. Hussein.
With regard to food supply, the PS said that the prison services are self-sufficient having quadrupled their production since 2018.
"As such, we don’t foresee any shortages. As for the supply for other necessary commodities, we have instituted strict protocols, including but not limited to thorough disinfection of vehicles and high hygiene standards that must be adhered to by all suppliers," said Mrs. Hussein.
