Street families in Kenya cry for help as coronavirus restrictions tighten

As confirmed coronavirus cases continue to rise in Kenya, with the country's health ministry confirming 48 cases so far, there is mounting concern for the well-being of street families and the underprivileged who can do little to protect themselves from the pandemic.

Cyrus Oguna, Kenya's government spokesperson, said on Saturday street families and other citizens who have no homes will be expected to remain at their usual places during curfew hours. Oguna said the government will only be cracking down on those individuals caught loitering in public places during the restricted period.

"During the 2019 population census, we collected data from all those individuals staying on the streets and we know the areas they stay, because our officers found them there during the counting. So we will expect them to stay in those areas and not loiter around the streets," Oguna said.

Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya's president, issued a nationwide curfew from 7 pm to 5 am starting March 27. Kenyatta's directive came as more countries across the world heeded the advice of the World Health Organization that the only way to slow down the spread of coronavirus is by imposing movement restrictions on their populations.

Speaking in Nairobi during the imposed curfew, Jason Laibon, a member of the street families, appealed for help, saying their community has been neglected as the whole world takes measures to prevent the spread.

"We respect the curfew but with the restriction of movement, we cannot make any money and we wish the government could offer us help. I have two children and a wife and if I stay at home, they will have nothing to eat," Laibon said.

According to Laibon, he would have been taking measures to protect himself if the government was offering him help to feed his family.

"I cannot stay at home yet. I need to pay rent and feed my family. We are asking the government to offer a stipend to use during this outbreak," Laibon said. "As homeless families, our work mostly involves picking people's garbage, and that puts us at a high risk of exposing ourselves to the virus. However, if we don’t go for work we have nothing to eat."

So far, coronavirus infections in Kenya have taken the pattern of other countries, where numbers double in the second week, creating a fear they could soar in the coming weeks as most people lack the government incentive to stay at home.

"As donors and people of goodwill help the government in fighting the spread of this virus," Laibon said, "we are requesting that they pay special attention to street families, because we are at the highest risk of contracting this virus."