486 individuals have tested positive for Covid-19, out of a sample size of 2,989 tested in the last 24 hours with a positivity rate of 16.3 percent.
The total number of confirmed positive Covid-19 cases now stands at 146,156 while the cumulative tests conducted so far are 1,564,827.
Of the cases announced today, 457 are Kenyans while 29 are foreigners, while 293 are male and 193 are female. The youngest is a four-month-old infant while the oldest is 94- years old.
Regrettably, 20 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours. Two occurred in the last 24 hours, five within the last one month while 13 are late death reports from facility record audits that occurred on diverse dates. This pushes our cumulative fatalities to 2,368.
At the same time, 115 patients have recovered from the disease, 61 from the Home-Based and Isolation Care, while 54 are from various health facilities.
The total number of recoveries now stands at 99, 210.
Currently, a total of 1,645 patients are admitted to various health facilities countrywide, while 6,063 patients are on Home Based Isolation and Care.
248 patients are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 48 of whom are on ventilatory support and 169 on supplemental oxygen. 31 patients are on observation.
Another 277 patients are separately on supplementary oxygen with 256 of them in the general wards and 21 in the High Dependency Unit (HDU).
Meanwhile, Kenya might fail to meet its vaccination target of 3.2 million jabs by June this year due to global and local supply shortage, registration confusion, and fear among citizens which have clouded the exercise.
The country is also expecting to see its vaccine doses run out in days to come, as the arrival of the new batch remains a puzzle since India blocked the export of the AstraZeneca vaccine to balance the local and international orders.
Furthermore, India has banned the export of anti-viral drug Remdesivir due to a ‘sudden spike in demand’ for the drug.
Remdesivir, made by USA pharmaceutical giant Gilead, is one of the first drugs to show relative promise in shortening the recovery time for some COVID-19 patients.
Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) had prohibited Kenyan hospitals to use Remdesivir drug but the doctors say otherwise.
“PPB is lying when it says the drug is not being used. It has not been explicitly banned. People are looking for those vials and using them. It depends on an individual although science shows it does not improve the outcome of the patient,” said a doctor who sought anonymity.
Elsewhere, Education Cabinet Secretary, George Magoha, has said the school calendar was likely not be changed since the Covid-19 curve appeared to be flattening.
The CS said that the timetable remains as it had been decided earlier in the year and learners will return to school as planned.
Sources at the Education Ministry revealed to Nation that the 2020 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) candidates may have wait longer than in previous years to know the secondary schools they will join.
The more than 1.1 million learners will have to wait until July to avoid an overlap since the 2020 Form One class still has one term to complete their academic year.
In the revised school calendar, Term One of 2021 is scheduled to begin on July 26, 2021.
