Unscrupulous traders are collecting used face masks, washing them and then re-selling them to unsuspecting members of the public, Nairobi News can now reveal.
The traders have taken advantage of Covid 19, which was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), to risk the lives of the unsuspecting public .
The government has directed all members of the public to wear face masks anytime they leave their houses and visit public places to mitigate the speared of the virus.
The government early this week issued orders that anyone found in public without a mask will be arrested and charged for threatening the lives of others.
Photos circulating on social media on Sunday showed how some women were washing the masks in basins and re-selling them oblivious of the danger this poses.
It remains unclear the exact place where the exact photos that captured two women washing the protective gears collected from dust bins was captured.
In one of the photos, the women were captured washing the face masks from one basin and rinsing them on another.
In his briefing on Sunday, Health CAS Dr Mercy Mwangangi has warned that anyone found recycling face masks will be immediately arrested and prosecuted.
Last weekend, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe gazetted a list of hefty penalties against violators who will be nabbed in public without a face mask.
In the notice, he stated that “users of public or private transport and public transport operators shall wear proper masks that must cover the mouth and nose. They should also maintain a physical distance of not less than a meter.”
A person who commits an offence under these rules shall on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding Sh20,000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or both.
The number of people who have tested positive for coronavirus by Sunday had reached 270.
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