COVID-19: 31 prisoners, remandees evacuated after testing positive

31 prisoners and remandees have been evacuated after testing positive for COVID-19 in the ongoing mass testing.

Through a press statement, Kenya Prisons Service commissioner general Wycliffe Ogallo said the 31 cases were part the 59 samples taken from the prisoners and remandees on Thursday, May 28.

He said the 59 people “had just completed 21 days in quarantine at the Nairobi Remand and Allocation Prison where they had been admitted from various courts.”

The individuals who tested positive were evacuated by the Nairobi County Emergency Response Team to various treatment centers.

"From the results received on Saturday, May 30, 2020, 31 samples had tested positive for the coronavirus after which the Nairobi County Emergency Response Team promptly moved in and evacuated the patients to various treatment centers for case management," read the statement.

Last month, the Kenya Prisons, in concurrence with the National Council on the Administration of Justice (NCAJ), released 11,000 petty offenders and convicts after service their respective jail terms.

Speaking on Saturday, May 30, during the COVID-19 press briefing, Health CAS Dr. Rashid Aman announced 147 more people tested positive for COVID-19 bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 1,888.

CAS Aman also said one more Kenyan succumbed to the disease bringing total deaths to 63. A total of 76,962 samples have been tested since the first case was reported in March.