Covid-19: Kenya cases rise to 16,268 after 667 more contract virus
What you need to know:
- Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Mercy Mwangangi also reported 311 more recoveries and 11 more deaths, raising the total number of those discharged to 7,446 and the death toll to 274.
- Dr Mwangangi said 657 of the new patients were Kenyans and the rest foreigners, and that the youngest was a month old and the oldest 92.
- Friday's address focused on HIV, with Dr Mwangangi saying that 96 per cent of the infected people in Kenya were under treatment.
Six hundred and sixty seven more people in Kenya have been found to have the coronavirus, following the testing of 5,075 samples in 24 hours.
This raised the total number of confirmed cases in Kenya to 16,268 and the total number of samples tested since March 13, when the country's first Covid-19 cases was confirmed, to 266,102.
The Health ministry announced this in its daily briefing on Friday, saying Nairobi County led with 387 cases.
Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Mercy Mwangangi also reported 311 more recoveries and 11 more deaths, raising the total number of those discharged to 7,446 and the death toll to 274.
Dr Mwangangi said 166 of the recovered patients were in the home-based care programme and the rest in hospital.
She also said one of the patients who died was a child with rickets.
"This is a cause for concern. We need to relook how we interact with the young ones at home," she said, adding that more deaths were being recorded among patients with underlying conditions including HIV, diabetes and hypertension.
CASE DISTRIBUTION
Dr Mwangangi said 657 of the new patients were Kenyans and the rest foreigners, and that the youngest was a month old and the oldest 92.
Male patients numbers 393 and female patients 274.
In terms of counties, Kajiado recorded 79 cases, Machakos 47, Kiambu 40, Mombasa 26, Nakuru 15, Uasin Gishu 14 and Garissa 11.
Then came Busia which had nine case, Kilifi and Turkana with six each, Makueni and Wajir with five each, Kisumu, Nyeri and Lamu with four each, Murang'a with two and Bomet, Bungoma, Narok, Nyamira and Vihiga with one each.
HIV
Friday's address focused on HIV, with Dr Mwangangi saying that 96 per cent of the infected people in Kenya were under treatment.
The ministry noted, however, that Covid-19 posed a challenge in the uptake of services by patients as the number of visits to clinics had decreased by 30 per cent.
She also noted a decline in the number of people collecting antiretroviral drugs.
"Covid-19 will reduce the identification of HIV patients, the number of those placed on care and the achievement of viral load suppression," she said.
She added, however, that Kenya had continued to make gains in the management of HIV/AIDS.
The ministry further noted that Kenya is not overwhelmed in Covid-19 management and that there are 12,000 beds across the country, at least 400 of them in intensive care units (ICU).
