Kenyan Woman Who was Photographed Wearing Face Mask Made from Plastic Bottle Gifted Sh100,000

Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho has come to the aid of a Kenyan woman who was photographed wearing a makeshift face mask made from a plastic bottle to protect herself from contracting coronavirus.

In photos shared online on Monday, the woman is seen carrying a child and holding the hand of a small girl believed to be her daughter. The girl is also wearing a mask fashioned from a plastic bottle.

The woman and her kids were among hundreds of commuters who were waiting to board a ferry at the Likoni crossing channel.

Governor Joho has awarded the needy woman Sh100,000 to help her start a small business and enable her to feed her family. She was also given several face masks to protect herself from the virus.

Speaking on Thursday, Governor Joho hailed the woman for taking the Covid-19 pandemic seriously and doing everything she could to protect herself and family.

“This woman did not sit at home saying she does not have a mask, she improvised, we do not know if her mask is medically viable, but we are picking the message from a positive perspective,” Joho said.

The government has put in place several measures to stem the spread of the disease in the country. The number of Covid-19 infections in Kenya rose to 81 on Wednesday after 22 new cases were confirmed.

Wearing a face mask has been touted as one of the ways one people can protect themselves from contracting the infection. People are also encouraged to regularly wash their hands with soap or alcohol-based hand sanitizers as well as maintain social distancing.