No deaths as Kenya's Covid cases go up by 147

Some 147 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Kenya today from a sample size of 2,063.

The national infections tally now stands at 103,014. The cumulative tests so far conducted are 1,243,431.

From the cases, 119 are Kenyans while 28 are foreigners, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe (pictured) said in a statement on Monday.

In the new cases, 75 are men while 72 are women. The youngest is a five-month-old infant and the oldest aged 88.

Nairobi continued to lead with 107 cases, followed by Kiambu (9), Mombasa (4), Uasin Gishu (4), Laikipia (3) and Kajiado (3) among others.

Some 242 patients recovered from Covid-19 in Kenya in the last 24 hours, pushing the national recoveries tally to 85,250.

In the recoveries, 151 were from the home-based isolation and care while 91 were from various health facilities.

No Covid deaths were reported in Kenya today. 

The cumulative deaths now stand at 1,795.

There are currently 254 patients currently admitted in various health facilities across the country.

This comes as the government clarified that Kenyans will start receiving Covid-19 jabs in June this year.

Health Chief Administrative Secretary Dr Mercy Mwangangi said reports that Kenyans would start getting the jabs in 2022 were not true.

The CAS said the rollout plan for the vaccines was not based on the normal calendar which runs from January to December but the government’s fiscal year, which runs from July to June the following year.

“Deployment plan which is currently undergoing stakeholder input is aligned to the government fiscal year. This is the third quarter of the current fiscal year which began in July last year and ends in June this year,” she said.

The 2022 schedule for the rollout is contained in a government report titled, Ministry of Health National Covid-19 Deployment and Vaccination Plan 2021, which indicates that the rollout will take place in the third quarter of the 2021/2022 financial year.

This means that the vaccines will be deployed between January and March of 2022 which is within the government's 2021/2022 financial year.

However, CAS said that the government’s statement two weeks ago that phase one of the rollout would happen this quarter stands.

“During that briefing, we informed you that the Covid-19 vaccination would be rolled out in three phases with phase one happening this quarter. That position has not changed,” Mwangangi said.