The government has today called upon individuals who are going for targeted testing of Covid 19 to provide the right contacts.
Health Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Dr. Rashid Aman said they have noticed a disturbing trend where individuals are providing wrong contacts and telephone numbers during testing.
This he said is serious considering that some of them have tested positive and therefore unable to be traced.
Giving todays update on Covid 19 situation in the Country , the CAS said the consequences of not giving the right information especially for those who test positive can be disastrous.
“I want to appeal to all our people to be responsible and provide accurate details during testing”, he added.
He reiterated the importance of the targeted testing saying that the activity which is currently ongoing in Nairobi and Mombasa is aimed at identifying where the virus is and for it to be treated.
Turning to the COVID-19 situation, Dr. Rashid said that out of the 1,108 samples tested in the last 24 hours, 22 people tested positive for Covid-19 disease.
This now brings the number to 1,214 people who have so far tested positive for the disease in the country. The cumulative tests conducted so far are 59,260.
In terms of gender, the CAS added that the number is still skewed towards men and todays positive cases have seen 17 males and 5 female while the age group of the cases is between 24 years for the youngest and 73 years for the oldest.
“These cases are spread in Nairobi which has 10 cases, Mombasa 9 case and Kwale, Nakuru and Taita Taveta have 1 case each”, he said .
Dr. Rashid noted that in Nairobi the breakdown of the cases are spread in Mathare, Kibera which have 2 cases each while the Makadara,Embakasi West, Eastleigh, Ruaraka, Langata, and Westlands have 1case each.The nine cases from Mombasa County are from; Mvita 5, Changamwe (1); Jomvu (1); Likoni (1) and Nyali (1).
Kwale County has (1) case from Lungalunga; Nakuru County (1) from Nakuru West, while that of Taita Taveta County is from Taveta quarantine facility.
The government today discharged 3 patients who have recovered from the disease bringing the total number of those who have recovered to 393 but the country has also lost one male patient aged 48 years old from Mathare, bringing our total fatality rate to 51.
Dr. Rashid congratulated the Muslim brothers and wished them a good Eid Mubarak as they celebrate the end of Ramadhan despite the difficult moment they have endured during the Ramadhan period that ended yesterday
He appealed to all to continue obeying and complying with the restrictions and advisories issued by the Ministry of Health even as the country soldiers on to combat the pandemic.
Dr. Rashid has also congratulated Acting Director General of the Ministry of health Dr. Patrick Amoth who has been elected the vice president of the WHO executive board saying the prestigious accomplishment shows confidence in which Kenya is recognized.
Director of public health Dr. Francis Kuria said Dr. Kuria said that although most of the patients who jetted in from India Covid 19 negative certificates, they were also advised to quarantine under their caregivers
Of the 59 people who went into mandatory quarantine in various facilities, Dr. Kuria said they were on the 11th day and most have undergone tests.
For others who also arrived from China and London, when they hit the 10th day they were also tested, he said explaining that the cases were being followed up by the Nairobi metropolitan services who have been coordinating the testing.
“Even those who went on self-quarantined yesterday assembled at the Ngara Health centre, were tested and the few who have been identified as positive have been taken to the isolation facilities in Nairobi.”, he said
As for truck drivers, Dr. Kuria said they are encouraging them to get tested before they embark on their journey to avoid delays at the border points.
“If all drivers comply and follow guidelines issued and with a mobile testing available, from Monday we can reduce the waiting time by about 6 hours”, he said
Kenyans are complying with the containment measures of hand washing, social and physical distancing, sanitization, self-quarantine and even wearing of masks and the government has urged them to continue to practice this
By Wangari Ndirangu
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