1. These Rules may be cited as the Public Health (Prevention, Control and Suppression of COVID -19) Rules, 2020.

2. Every owner, person in charge of, or occupier of premises, and every employer and head of a household, who suspects that any person who is residing on his or her premises or who is in his or her employment, is suffering from COVID-19, shall notify a medical officer, public health officer or a medical practitioner or take that person to a medical officer, medical practitioner or health facility for treatment.

3. (1) Every medical officer of health, public health officer or medical practitioner who attends to, or who is called in to visit a patient, shall immediately, on becoming aware or suspecting that the patient is suffering from COVID-19, transfer the patient to the nearest health facility.

(2) Every medical officer of health, public health officer or medical practitioner who becomes aware, by post-mortem examination or otherwise, that any person has died of COVID-19, shall immediately inform the head of the household, or the occupier of the premises, or any person who has been in attendance on or contact with the deceased person, of the infectious nature of COVID-19 and of the precautions to be taken to prevent its transmission to other persons.

4. Where any case of COVID-19 is transferred to a health facility, the medical officer of health or public health officer shall immediately visit and inspect the premises where that person resides and may—

(a) order all persons who have attended to or been in contact with the person to remain on the premises where the person was at the time of infection; or

(b) cause those persons to be removed to a health facility or other suitable place provided for the reception of persons suffering from COVID-19 or for quarantine.

5. (1) A medical officer of health, public health officer or a health inspector, or other person acting on the written instructions of a medical officer of health, may enter any premises in order to search for any case of COVID-19, or to inquire whether there is or has been on the premises, any case of COVID-19.

(2) Where any public health officer or health inspector or other person discovers any case of COVID-19, he or she shall report the discovery to a medical officer.

6. Where a building, premises or conveyance has signs of contamination with COVID-19 or where a medical officer of health has information of contamination of a building, premises or conveyance, the medical officer of health may decontaminate or cause the decontamination of the affected building, premises or conveyance.

7. Where a building, premises or conveyance has signs of contamination with COVID-19 or where a medical officer of health or public health officer has information of contamination of a building, premises or conveyance, the medical officer of health or public health officer may direct the manner in which that building, premises or conveyance may be used and may, in that regard, direct the evacuation of that building, premises or conveyance, or prohibit entry into that building, premises or conveyance, for such duration as may be necessary to decontaminate or cause the decontamination of that building, premises or conveyance.

8. The bodies of all persons who die from COVID-19 shall be removed and disposed of in conformity with the directions of the medical officer of health or public health officer.

9. Any health facility that receives a person suffering or suspected of suffering from COVID-19, shall receive and deal with that person in accordance with the directions of the medical officer of health or public health officer.

10. (1) Where a person who is confined in a place designated for isolation or for quarantine for COVID-19 escapes from that place, a

medical officer shall immediately notify the police and request the police to apprehend and return the person to the designated place.

(2) A person commits an offence if that person—

(a) aids a person who is confined in a place designated for isolation or quarantine for COVID-19, in escaping or attempting to escape from the place; or

(b) conveys anything or causes anything to be conveyed into a place designated for isolation or quarantine for COVID-19 with the intent to facilitate the escape of any person confined in the place.

(3) A person who commits an offence under subparagraph (1) is liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two months or a fine not exceeding twenty thousand shillings.

11. (1) In this paragraph, “carrier’’ includes any person who, although he or she does not at the time present the clinical symptoms of COVID-19, has been proved, or is believed on reasonable grounds, to be harboring the infection and consequently to be liable to cause the spread of COVID-19.

(2) Any person who is believed or suspected, on reasonable grounds, by a medical officer of health to be a carrier shall allow, on request to the medical officer of health, or to any person authorized by the medical officer of health in writing, the medical officer of health to obtain from him or her specimens of blood, excreta, discharges or other material required for examination and investigation.

(3) Where a medical officer of health determines that a person is believed or suspected to be a carrier and that the necessary examination and investigations cannot be properly carried out at the house or place of residence of that person, the medical officer of health may direct that person to proceed or to be removed to a hospital or other suitable place for the purpose of examination and investigation and to remain or to be detained in that place for such reasonable period as may be required for that purpose.

(4) Every carrier shall at all times observe and give effect to all reasonable instructions given to him or her by the medical officer of health in regard to the disposal of his or her infectious materials and the cleansing of the articles used by the carrier, and any other precautions for preventing the spread of infection.