Kenya records 497 new Covid-19 cases, death toll rises to 202

 

Daily Covid-19 infections are entering the five hundredth threshold with the Ministry of Health reporting 497 new Covid-19 cases from 4,922 samples in the past 24 hours.

The total number of Covid-19 cases in Kenya now stands at 10,791 out of 221,234 samples.

During the daily national update, Health Chief Administrative Secretary Dr Mercy Mwangangi (pictured ) said the disease was still domiciled in the community. She raised a red flag that Nairobi was registering higher cases of late.

For instance,  the capital city has registered over 500 cases in the last three days. This was even aggravated in the past 24 hours when the bustling metropolis registered 292 cases, which is more than half the total caseload noted a new in the country.

“Coronavirus disease is now fully domiciled in our communities as evidenced by the surging numbers. These figures will keep rising, something that should worry each and every one of us,” she said.

The other cases are distributed as follows: Kiambu (62), Kajiado (51), Machakos (30), Mombasa (28), Busia (10), Uasin Gishu (8), Nakuru (5) and Makueni (3), Narok, Nyeri and Meru had two cases each, while Kakamega, Kericho, Kilifi and Nandi one case each.

Dr Mwangangi made a passionate appeal to the public to avoid stigmatising Covid-19 patients saying that the behaviour was dealing a blow to the fight against the pandemic.

Just a day after the country registered the highest number of deaths (12), Dr Mwangangi said that another five patients died from the bug. This now brings Kenya’s death toll from the virus to 202.

On a positive note, the CAS said that 71 people recovered and were discharged from the treatment facilities in the past 24 hours. A total of 3,071 have now recovered from the virus. 

Of the 497 fresh cases, 480 are Kenyans and 17 foreigners and the age bracket of the patients fall within 2 to 81 years. 

The Cabinet Secretary for Health, Mutahi Kagwe, announced Kenya’s first case of Covid-19 on March 13. Immediately the first case was reported, the government released health guidelines and also imposed lockdown measures to help contain the spread of the disease. President Uhuru Kenyatta then announced the cessation of movement in and out of Nairobi, Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi and Mandera counties to contain the spread of the virus.

But on June 6, the President announced phased reopening up of the economy, lifting travel in and out of Nairobi, Mandera and Mombasa counties. Kwale and Kilifi had their restrictions lifted before then after they registered the number of lower cases.

The President also extended other measures such as bans on public gatherings, social distancing in Public Service Vehicles (PSVs), dusk to dawn curfew and closure of bars. The government directed that places of worship be opened today but in strict conformity to health safety guidelines.

According to worldometers.info, coronavirus had infected 13.2 million globally by Tuesday. Over 575,000 people have so far succumbed to it while 7.7 million people have recovered.