Kenya records highest daily Covid-19 death toll as cases rise to 10,294

Kenya has recorded its highest number of deaths from Covid-19 within a 24-hour period, the Ministry of Health figures showed on Monday.

Twelve people succumbed to the virus taking the death tally to 197. The 12 are from Nairobi County with nine dying in hospitals and three in their homes.

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe also reported 189 new positive cases from 1,205 tests, warning that the upsurge in infection "is likely to continue" and asked those those in denial to wait for the virus.

This now brings the country’s total case load to 10,294. As of today, 216,242 samples have been tested.

On the distribution of the new cases, Kagwe said 106 are male and 83 female with the youngest being a five-year-old child and the oldest at 71 years.

Per county, Nairobi reported 147, Kiambu 20, Machakos 11, Kajiado 5, Mombasa 2, Uasin Gishu, Kisumu, Laikipia and Kericho each had a case.

Of the 147 cases in Nairobi Dagoretti North accounted for 77, Embakasi East and Makadara reported 10 each, Embakasi South and Kibra had nine each, Embakasi West (6), Langata (4), Kamukunji and Kasarani two each, and Dagoretti South, Embakasi Central and Embakasi North had one each.

Further, 65 patients have been discharged from various hospitals bringing to 2,946 the number of recoveries.

"Whereas I urge you to stay calm, in the same breath I would like to appeal to you, my dear brothers and sisters not to relent in this fight against Covid-19 pandemic," Kagwe said.

"The only way to confront the battle is through the containment measures that we have been advocating, and please let me inform you that we shall not tire in reminding you about these measures," Kagwe stated, "This is because, they are the only weapons we have to wrestle this invincible enemy."

With new daily infections sharply increasing in recent days, Kagwe said contact tracing – the tool handy in breaking the transmission chain – was not an easy task.

He said that one of their biggest challenge was logistic support.

According to Kagwe, they were initially using telephone calls to get in touch with the contacts but have now moving to a web based application which is linked to the Kenya electronic medical records.

"All counties are required to have rapid response/contact tracing," Kagwe said, adding that there were 229 teams as of today across the 47 counties.

"The National Response and Contact tracing team, is currently conducting training for these teams on the usage of the web based tool and data management," Kagwe noted.

The tracing logistics, will however, be boosted with vehicles procured by the Covid-19 Health Emergency Response Project (C-HREP) at a cost of Sh200 million.

Thirteen counties will receive the vehicles. Nairobi which will get two vehicles one for Kenyatta National Hospital and the other, for the newly formed Nairobi Metropolitan Services.

The other counties include: Mombasa, Kiambu, Kajiado, Machakos, Nyeri, Migori, Busia, Uasin Gishu, Nakuru, Taita Taveta, Elgeyo Marakwet and Kisii.