The vehicle had two "daughters of the deceased" and three grandchildren
Image: ROBERT OMOLLO
The Homa Bay driver who tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday had left Nairobi on Wednesday with an empty coffin.
Authorities said the 26-year-old beat police roadblocks by pretending he was ferrying a body for burial upcountry.
He had eight passengers including two women who were said to be the 'deceased daughters' and three grandchildren.
They said they were ferrying the body for a burial in Kadede village in Kamser, Karachuonyo constituency, Homa Bay county commissioner Yatich Kipkemei said.
They were travelling in a hired nissan matatu.
The administrator said the suspects also forged travel documents from the Nairobi regional office that they used to pass roadblocks.
“They cheated because when they arrived in the village, they found the deceased had been buried,” Kipkemei said.
The nine were rounded up and quarantined before tests revealed the driver was positive for Covid-19.
He was taken to Malela Covid-19 Centre in Ndhiwa constituency where he was isolated. The samples were tested at the Kenya Medical Research Institute laboratory in Kisumu.
“The remaining eight have been subjected to quarantine for 14 days as they await the results from Kemri,” Kipkemei said.
Kipkemei said they were tracing contacts because the patient went and interacted with family members at Seka village in Karachuonyo.
He said they have taken some family members the man is suspected to have come in contact with into quarantine.
“We’re following up more people suspected to have come into close contact with the man. Some have been quarantine already for 14 days and their samples taken for tests,” the administrator said.
The driver becomes the first positive case registered in Homa Bay.
“We want residents to report to us anybody they suspect of having Covid-19 for testing to enable us to prevent possible spread,” he said.
Health CS Mutahi Kagwe on Saturday expressed his frustration on the extent people are going to beat the Nairobi partial lockdown.
While issuing the daily updates on the virus in the country, Kagwe said some people are not complying with movement restrictions.
Kagwe said that the group travelling in a private vehicle tricked police officers manning the border that they were attending a funeral.
"...pretending that they were attending a funeral, fully equipped with an empty coffin," Kagwe said.
The CS said that the county government of Homabay officials managed to stop the vehicle.
He said the coffin was found empty and the group put in mandatory quarantine.
"They were immediately put into quarantine and today, I can confirm that the driver is positive," Kagwe said.
The driver is among the 16 new cases confirmed in the last 24 hours, bringing the total of infections to 262.
Edited by Peter Obuya