The Country on Sunday recorded the highest number of people who recovered from the Corona Virus after 32 patients were discharged from various isolation facilities.
The record figure in a day now brings the number of patients who have recovered from the highly contagious disease to 239 since the pandemic was reported in the country in March this year.
Giving an update of the corona virus situation in the Country, the Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS), in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Rashid Aman said these recoveries indicate that it was possible to overcome the disease with proper management.
“This number of patients discharged could not have been possible without the dedication and commitment of our healthcare workers, some of whom work under very difficult condition”, the CAS said.
However, Dr. Rashid noted that even as the country celebrates the recoveries, the global situation still indicates that COVID-19 can very easily overwhelm healthcare systems, if containment measures are not adhered to.
“We have seen images of desperate patients being aired on various media platforms. We do not want this to happen to us. This is why we have repeatedly emphasized on measures to avoid overburdening our healthcare system”, he added.
Dr. Rashid explained that the virus has proven that it is very resilient with the experience of other countries proving that behavioral factors and also other interventions play a large part in slowing down the spread of infections.
In the last 24 hours, the CAS said that out of the tested 1,056 samples collected from individuals in quarantine facilities and from those in the surveillance program, 23 have tested positive for Covid-19 disease.
Twenty-two of the cases he noted are Kenyans, while one is Burundian and this now bring the cumulative number of those who have tested positive in the country to 672.
The distribution of the cases by counties is that twelve (12) are in Mombasa, six (6) in Mandera, four (4) in Nairobi, and one (1) in Kajiado. Twenty (20) of the cases were picked by our surveillance teams, while three (3) are from mandatory quarantine facilities.
In Nairobi, Dr. Rashid said that the four cases are Umoja which had two, while Komarock and Pipeline had one each .
The 12 cases in Mombasa are from Kisauni which had two , Likoni had also two , and eight are from Mvita.
The six cases from Mandera are distributed as follows; Mandera East (3), and one (1) each from Elwak, Mandera North and Mandera West. In Kajiado; the one case is from Saina Estate.
In terms of age, todays cases range between one year nine months for the youngest, and 80 years for the oldest. thirteen are males, while ten are females.
The Country, the CAS confirmed had also lost two patients in Mombasa bringing the total number of those who have succumbed to the disease to 32. So far the overall number of samples that have been tested in the country stands at 32,097.
Meanwhile, the Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary, Najib Balala has said that starting on Monday May 11,2020, they will be holding a meeting to discuss on protocols that will guide on businesses especially in the hospitality industry to open up their business.
However, he noted that they will have to abide by what the government and the Ministry of health recommends, saying that MOH will have the last say on the guidelines that will be discussed in the meeting.
“We will be meeting with all the stakeholders both in hotel and restaurant businesses to look at the protocols and practices. we are starting with the hospitality sector and then move to also other sectors as the government is committed to gradually and slowly open the economy.
Dr. Francis Kuria, the Head of Public Health has warned that they will not hesitate to close premises especially the hotels and eaters who have not adhered to the laid down guidelines given for opening up their businesses.
“Starting tomorrow we will be sweeping various premises in the areas and if one is caught without the new permits as required, we will close the premises and they should know they are also liable to prosecution “, he said
Dr. Kuria has further come out and explained that they have put up designated areas along the transport chain for track drivers who are traveling to border countries where they will be tested and also checked whether they have followed the guidelines they have been given.
“Before one travels, the track driver must have undergone testing 48 hours prior to travel and also gotten a certificate which they will have to present to designated areas as they travel”, he said
He said the designated areas along the transport chain where testing camps have been set up and also the hospitals that one need to visit on the road are available on the MOH website.
The Isiolo Governor, Mohammed Kuti said that considering the number of cases are rising especially at County levels, County governments should be well prepared by setting aside more isolation and quarantine facilities.
Kuti added that floods at various counties has also compounded the Covid 19 problem with most displaced communities camping in one area , emerging diarhoea and also malaria cases might emerge thus counties should be prepared while the National government should come in and support on this
By Wangari Ndirangu
