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Kenya’s coronavirus caseload has jumped to 18,581 after 606 people tested positive for the virus in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health has said.
The new infections were noted after the testing of 4,888 samples. According to the health ministry, 284,500 people have so far been tested since the first case on March 13, 2020.
The country also lost 14 patients over the 24 hours bringing the death toll to 299. The death cases represent yet another blow to the country because it is another day that Kenya has registered double-digit mortality. 75 patients recovered from the virus and this implies that the total number of recoveries now stands at 7,908.
Among those who tested positive is a four-month-old baby and the oldest patient is an 85-year-old person. Of those who tested positive for the virus, 583 of them are Kenyans while 23 are foreigners. 408 of the patients are males while 197 are females.
Health Director-General Dr Patrick Amoth said that 10 of the 14 fatalities had pre-existing medical conditions. According to Dr Amoth, the patients had diabetes, hypertension and cancers. Another patient had an end-stage renal disease of kidney failure. Four others had no pre-existing health condition.
While addressing the press during the daily Covid-19 update, Health cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe (pictured above) warned that banking on hard immunity would be dangerous because there are no clinical pieces of evidence for that.
He warned against breaching the directive banning sale and consumption of alcoholic drinks in bars and homes.
“When we prohibit you from going to bars and ordering sausage and chupa mbili (two bottles of beer)…that is normal. We hope you won’t resort to a plan B by taking parties to your homes or taking drinks to your hideouts,” he said.
He warned against complacency saying it could prove costly to the fight against the virus. He added that everyone needs to treat kin or a friend as a possible carrier.
“I have become a bullet and you have become a bullet. I can kill somebody and you can kill somebody and not intentionally,” he warned.
CS Kagwe rubbished reports that the government was abandoning the people by emphasising personal responsibility. Kagwe termed the notion ‘stupid’ and baseless saying that the war against the disease will not be worn by government alone.
The new Covid-19 cases are distributed as follows: Nairobi (448), Kiambu (54), Kajiado (25), Machakos (16), Uasin Gishu (11), Nakuru (11), Kericho (9), Busia (7), Mombasa (7), Garissa (6), Bomet (3), Nyeri (2), Narok (2), Nandi (2), Embu (1), Lamu (1), Murang’a (1).
On Monday, President Uhuru Kenyatta chaired a summit where he met the governors and discussed the Covid-19 safety protocols. In his address after the summit, President Uhuru upheld dusk to dawn curfew for the next one month, ordered for closure of bars and vowed heavy penalties on those who shall be found to have breached the health safety rules.
“All the measures I am announcing today shall apply to all Kenyans regardless of their political standings,” he warned.
The Head of State ruled out a possibility of a lockdown despite the surge in infections but emphasised the need for individual responsibility.
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