The elderly biggest casualties of deadly virus

Elderly people make the biggest number of casualties of coronavirus as the pandemic death toll surged to 4,000.

It represents a case fatality rate of two per cent, with those aged 60 and above the most affected.

Yesterday, the country recorded 30 new deaths from the virus, even as experts attribute the high numbers to poor adherence to safety protocols. Some say new variants could also be a factor, but this has not been established yet. 

Kenya had recorded more than 206,691 cases as of Wednesday, with the highest ever positivity rate at 17.5 per cent since the pandemic was recorded in the country in March 2020. 

Kenya is already experiencing its fourth wave, with the daily caseload rising to above 1,000, from less than 200 cases when it was almost flattening the curve.

Interestingly, weekly Covid-19 deaths in Africa also reached a record peak in the week that ended on August 1, marking the highest seven-day toll since the onset of the pandemic on the continent, new data from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows.

More than 6,400 deaths were recorded, a two per cent rise, compared with the previous week, with South Africa and Tunisia accounting for more than 55 per cent of the fatalities. 

Death trends are on the rise in 15 countries including Kenya, and 12 have reported higher case fatality rates than the African average of 2.5 percent over the past month.

Crest of the third wave

With more than 172,000 deaths, Africa accounts for over four per cent of the 4.2 million Covid-19-related deaths globally. 

“It’s a sad day for Africa. Our hearts go out to everyone who has lost friends and loved ones. Deaths have peaked week-on-week on the continent and after a slight dip, Covid-19 cases are surging again. “

“The latest data tells us that Africa is still on the crest of the third wave, still recording more cases than in any earlier peak, and that we cannot take anything for granted,” said Dr Phionah Atuhebwe, the New Vaccines Introduction Officer at WHO Regional Office for Africa.

Dr Patrick Amoth, the director general in the Health ministry, said the number of deaths that the country is recording is worrying and it is high time Kenyans went back to the basics. 

“Positivity rate of 17.5 per cent and 30 recorded deaths is worrying. I urge us all to avoid crowded places, closed spaces and close contact. Covid-19 pandemic may be here with us longer. We must all adhere to infection prevention protocols even as we work towards higher vaccination numbers,” said Dr Amoth. 

“We could be recording more deaths because more people are severely ill and the resources, including facilities, are too overwhelmed to prevent the deaths,” said Prof Matilu Mwau, an infectious disease researcher. 

Prof Mwau said most of the people who are in need of oxygen cannot get it, even if they can afford it, because it is not available. 

The country has also lost 796 Kenyans aged between 30 and 50, with those who are 20 to 29 years recording 123 deaths. Children aged 0 to nine years recorded 57 deaths while 10- to 19-year-olds recorded only 31 deaths.

Out of the 4,026 deaths, 2,671 (66 per cent) are male, with 1,355 (34 per cent) females.

High positivity rate

In all the age groups, men are leading in the number of deaths. For instance, in the 60 years and above category which is the leading with 1,448 males dying doubling the number of females at 711 who succumbed to the virus.

However, of interest is that those aged 58 and above are leading in the number of Kenyans who are fully vaccinated, with 206,894 getting their second dose of the vaccine.

Dr Ahmed Kalebi, consultant pathologist, said the Kenya Medical Research Institute team needs to provide information on the emerging cohort of patients who get re-infected with Covid-19, especially on the nature of symptoms, admissions and mortality.

“With such a high positivity rate with intensifying community spread of the surging fourth wave, this is the most crucial time for Kenyans to be extra vigilant with stricter adherence to masking and avoiding all forms of crowding in order to break the chain of transmission,” he said. 

With the recorded cases and deaths, the fourth wave will likely surpass the second and the third waves this month, since not many Kenyans have received their vaccination, he added. 

The vaccination drive in the country has been so slow and only two per cent of the population have been fully vaccinated, which means with the rise in the numbers, if the virus attacks those who are not vaccinated, there is a likelihood that they could severely be attacked. 

More than one million Kenyans have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine so far, with only 670,284 getting their second dose, accounting for 2.46 per cent of the total population. 

The uptake of the vaccination is slowly picking up, with experts warning that the country could miss its target of 26 million by end of next year unless the drive is scaled up further.