Kenya recorded 724 more Covid-19 positive cases in the last 24 hours, as the country's total caseload rose to 56,601.
Speaking in Malindi on Monday, November 2, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe announced that 5,085 samples had been tested over the period bringing the cumulative tests to 704,605.
He disclosed that the youngest case is a 1-year-old baby, while the oldest is aged 84 years.
248 patients were discharged; 178 from the home-based care program, and 70 from hospitals around the country. Total recoveries now stand at 37,442.
Unfortunately, 14 patients succumbed to the disease bringing the total number of fatalities to 1,027. The CS highlighted that over the last one week, over 100 deaths had been reported, "this has been our worst week ever since the very first case was recorded in March 2020".
From the latest tests, the positivity rate is 14%, down from 15% recorded a day earlier. Of the 724 new cases, Nairobi county led with 362 individuals testing positive for Covid-19
54 patients are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 26 of them are on ventilatory support and 28 on supplementary oxygen. Another 55 are separately on supplementary oxygen, out of whom 45 are in general wards while 10 are in High Dependency Unit (HDU)
The Health CS made it clear that recent reports that hospitals within the country were overwhelmed by the second wave of the pandemic were inaccurate.
"We are not overwhelmed in regard to bed capacity as reported in the press. 1297 patients admitted. Inter County transfer of covid-19 patients will not be allowed," he asserted.
The CS went on to reveal that is a shortage of reagents within the country.
“It is painful to hear people claim there’s no Covid-19 yet families are mourning every day. This is not a creation; it is reality being witnessed globally. It is only fair and right for people to take the disease with the seriousness it deserves” he stated.
He further warned on the consequences of the eased containment measures, and advised that stringent measures needed to be effected again to curb the rapid spread of the coronavirus in the country.
