Uhuru Announces 234 Covid-19 Cases in Kenya

President Uhuru Kenyatta addressing the nation from State House Nairobi on April 6, 2020.
President Uhuru Kenyatta addressing the nation from State House Nairobi on April 6, 2020.
PSCU

During a press conference at State House on Thursday, April 16, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced that 9 had tested positive for Covid-19 bringing the country's total to 234.

With the government having tested 704 samples in the preceding 24 hours.

The President noted that the measures instituted by the government including the curfew as well as the partial lockdown had limited the spread of the disease on a larger scale.

President Uhuru delivering an address on Monday, April 6 at Statehouse. PSCU
President Uhuru delivering an address on Monday, April 6 at Statehouse.
PSCU

"On the advice of public health experts we moved quickly to implement an individual plan to curb exposure to the virus," said the President.

He highlighted that 53 people had tested negative and been discharged from hospitals following the receipt of their Covid-19 results. 

The President also regrettably noted that the country had lost 11 people to the virus while 156 still remained in isolation facilities. 

The affected age range for those who had contracted the virus in the country was 2 years to 64 years all from different social-economic groups, ethnicities and nationalities.

"We can all be infected if we are not careful. Coronavirus is not a respecter of age, of ethnicity or race," stated the head of state.

He highlighted that Kenya's testing capacity had grown exponentially and this would go a long way in facilitating testing on a wider scale across the nation. 

"Our testing capability has gone up dramatically and we have tested over 10,00 individuals. The Ministry of Health has received more testing reagent that will allow us to scale up our testing capabilities in targeted areas and eventually to the wider Kenyan population," he stat

The President cast a spotlight on the 16 Kenyatta University students who had innovated a ventilator noting that their efforts were to be applauded.

He further congratulated local industries that had stepped to fill the gap in the production of masks, PPE's and soap.

"These efforts are demonstrating our ability as a nation to be a stringer manufacturing nation. It will ultimately create jobs and serve our nation not only during the crises but beyond it," stated the President.

He urged Kenyans to rally behind these industries and buy Kenyan products to ensure that these local manufacturers remained afloat. 

"Now that these products are being manufactured locally, the efforts should be to procure these products locally so we can keep our workers and industries flowing and working," stated Uhuru. 

The President additionally added a raft of new measures to aid those most affected by the virus,

To these effect, health workers at the frontlines stood to receive a welfare package intended to cushion them during the course of the pandemic.

County governments were also to receive a three-month waiver from the Kenya Medica Supply Agency from the purchase of masks and PPEs to protect medics as well as citizens.

An additional Ksh 5 billion would also be distributed to the counties that would be used to cushion the most vulnerable. 

Needy households in Nairobi had also been identified in with these set to receive a weekly stipend. The first batch of homes had already received the allocated funds during the program's launch on Wednesday, April 15. 



Watch Uhuru address the press at State House in the video below:

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