Kenya's Covid-19 cases rise to 179

The Health ministry has announced seven more confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Kenya, raising the country's official toll to 179.

Health Chief Administrative Secretary, Dr Mercy Mwangangi, told a press conference on Wednesday that all the new patients were Kenyans.

Five were found through surveillance while two had been quarantined, Dr Mwangangi said, adding five of the cases were recorded in Nairobi and one each in Mombasa and Uasin Gishu counties.

Four of the new patients, who were among 305 people tested in the last 24 hours, had a history of travel.

The ministry said that in terms of contact tracing, 2,004 people had been monitored and 1,426 of them discharged.

Health officials were following up on the rest, the CAS said, adding a total of 5,278 samples had been tested in Kenya by Wednesday.

She further noted that majority of the new positive cases were of people under quarantine.

HOME CARE

Dr Mwangangi said majority of the 179 cases were either mild or moderate and that home-based care would be considered for the patients.

The ministry reported that two patients were discharged in the last 24 hours and that a Kenyan who had been under critical care and ventilator support at a private facility was moved to the general ward.

While detailing the patients' ages, the ministry appealed to the public to adhere to the government's directive on preventing spread of the disease.

Dr Mwangangi said three out of the 179 were 15 years old or younger, 49 were in the age 15-29 group, 113 in the age 30-59 group and only 13 above age 60.

"Looking at age distribution, the coronavirus disease is affecting the more productive members of our society. This means we need to take charge and observe the interventions put in place," she said.

Regarding burials, which have been cut short, with some supervised by health officials, she said, "Families should apply for permits. This will be communicated to the Interior ministry."

MPs' TESTS

Regarding testing, Dr Mwangangi said all laboratories should follow protocols and that private facilities should report all their testing to the government.

"As we deploy mass testing we will see [an increase] in the number of cases. We will confirm this in the next few days," she said.

Asked about reports of fears of mass coronavirus infections among members of Parliament, the ministry said it was aware of this but that it had not received a formal report.

"We are rolling out mass testing, which will include institutions. At that time we will be able to relay to you what the situation may look like in Parliament or at the Judiciary," she said.

She added, however, "It is also important to note that even as we invoke the Public Health Act, we are taking seriously matters of confidentiality and ensuring that principles that govern medicine are adhered to."

PREVIOUS UPDATE

In the daily update on Tuesday, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe announced that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kenya had risen to 172.

CS Kagwe told the public to brace for more cases and stricter measures to arrest the spread.

The number of patients is expected to shoot up drastically as mass testing of all employees in hospitals and quarantine centres starts.

The Covid-19 disease has killed at least 83,257 people worldwide since it was first reported in Wuhan, China, on December 31, 2019.

At least 1,445,911 infections and 309,113 recoveries have been reported globally, according to Worldometer's count on Wednesday.