Alarm as 28 die of Covid-19 in a day

Kenya has lost 28 people to the coronavirus in the last 24 hours raising the death toll to 1,982 in a day that the positivity rate stood at 17.5 per cent.

This is also the highest number of Covid-19 deaths recorded in a day since the beginning of the year, and an additional of eleven patients compared to yesterday.

Health CAS Dr Mercy Mwangangi has raised alarm over the rising infections noting that there are more than 800 patients admitted in hospitals across the country.

One hundred and twenty-three of those are admitted in the ICU and fourteen in HDU.

Speaking at Afya House on Friday, the CAS said: “This is a worrying trend. The rising cases are an indication that we have lowered our guard. This is the time to return to our basics since we are already in the third wave.”

Today, 38 counties have recorded cases of the coronavirus, a figure she noted had more than doubled since the start of the year.

“Many people who are contracting the virus are not getting it from outsiders but from the community,” Mwangangi said.

The CAS also noted that some 28,255 people had been vaccinated as at Friday March 19, 2021.

However, in view of the third wave of infections, the Health Ministry says it would begin vaccinating persons above 60 years (vulnerable). They will receive the Covid jabs when the second consignment of vaccines arrives next month.

Failure to contain the spread of the disease could also force the government to instill more stringent measures. “There is need for us to exercise safety precautions in order to curtail the virus,” she advised.

Covid-19 Numbers

This Friday, 1,354 people tested positive for the coronavirus, out of a 7,732 sample size conducted in the last 24 hours.

There are now 118, 889 confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country.

Some 185 patients have recovered from the disease, raising recoveries to 89, 388.  ?