Eight more die as 104 people test positive for Covid-19

Health CAS Rashid Aman addressing the press. [File]

Eight patients have succumbed to Covid-19 raising the total number of fatalities from the respiratory disease in the country to 607, new data from the health ministry showed.

Seventy-four others were declared healed bringing the total number of recoveries to 21,557.

Of those, 41 were from the home-based care programme, while 33 were discharged from various health facilities.

Health CAS Rashid Aman, while addressing the press at Afya House on Wednesday, announced that the country had also recorded 104 new Covid-19 infections in the past 24 hours from 2,285 samples tested.

So far, cumulative infections in Kenya now stand at 35,460 and tests at 481,982.

Of the new cases, three are foreigners while the rest are Kenyans, all aged between one and 75-years-old.

Nairobi registered 18 cases, Mombasa (16), Kisumu (13), Embu(11), Laikipia (11), Murang’a (6), Narok (4), Kericho (4), Kiambu (3), Meru (3), Machakos (3), Nakuru (3), Taita Taveta (2), Uasin Gishu (2), Bomet (1), Kajiado (1), Kwale (1), Lamu (1) and Vihiga (1).

The Health CAS highlighted that there had been remarkable progress with regards to the recovery of patients but stigmatisation against Covid-19 victims was still engraved in the society.

 “Our surveillance teams have observed that there has been some level of stigmatization against people who have been discharged from the isolation and quarantine facilities,” he said.

Dr Aman urged the culprits to stop the behavior. 

“Stigmatization drives the disease underground and defeats efforts at containing the spread of the virus. Although Covid-19 cannot be compared or equated with HIV/AIDS, which we have destigmatized, why do we have to stigmatize Covid-19?” he posed.

The CAS added that the virus does not discriminate based on age, gender or status and so all Kenyans should be compassionate towards those who had recovered from coronavirus.