Kenya’s Covid-19 deaths have risen to 17 after two more patients succumbed to the virus.
The number of positive cases has also risen to 396 after 12 more people tested positive for the disease.
The Health Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Rashid Aman on Thursday announced that 15 patients had recovered and were discharged, raising the number of recoveries to 144.
Of the 12 new infections, nine are male and three female, all aged between one and half years and 75 years.
The Ministry had tested 777 samples in the past 24 hours bringing the total number of samples tested in the country to 20,268 as of April 30.
Dr Aman said seven of the new cases were picked by the Health Ministry’s disease surveillance team while five are from designated quarantine centres.
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Nairobi and Mombasa counties continued to record the highest numbers of Covid-19 cases, with each having three and seven cases respectively. Kitui County had one case.
Wajir County which borders the locked Mandera county recorded its first case today.
The Health CAS urged Kenyans to adhere to the guidelines set by the government as uncertainties over the virus still linger and as a country, we are not out of the woods yet.
“The government and the Ministry can put in the right measures but there is a responsibility upon us as citizens to also adhere to those guidelines,” he said.
This is as Kenyans receive blame for the blatant disregard for the Health Ministry’s directives on social distancing, wearing of masks and hand washing, to curb the spread of the Covid-19.
Expenditure
On the Ministry’s expenditure that has caused an uproar online, Dr Aman said the accounting team will issue a detailed report in the coming days.
This follows outrage from a section of Kenyans online after the ministry spent huge sums on tea, snacks and phone airtime for its staff.
In the breakdown Sh1.3 billion spent in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic includes Sh42 million for leasing ambulances, Sh4 million for tea and snacks, and Sh2 million for mobile airtime.
The expenditure is from the Sh1 billion donated by the World Bank for emergency response, including procurement of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), medicines and setting up of isolation facilities.
Although the approved budget was Sh976.8 million, the Ministry of Health has spent Sh1.3 billion since the outbreak in mid-March, a government document showed.