Covid-19: Surge in fatalities, highest positive cases recorded

Kenya on Friday recorded her highest number of new Covid-19 cases in a day since the first case was reported in March.

The Ministry of Health, in a statement, said 1,470 people had tested positive for the virus from a sample size of 8,072 tested in the last 24 hours, bringing to 68,193 the total number of confirmed infections in Kenya so far.

The health ministry said this was a positivity rate of 18.2 per cent.

From the new cases, 1,397 are Kenyans and 73 foreigners; 986 are male and 484 female, with the youngest being a two-month old infant and the oldest 88 years of age.

Over the same period, 791 patients recovered from the ailment; 695 from the home-based care program, while 96 have been discharged from various health facilities.

Total recoveries recorded so far are 44,872.

Unfortunately, 25 other patients succumbed to the disease bringing the death toll in the country to 1,228.

“A total of 1,364 patients are admitted in various health facilities countrywide, while 5,726 are on Home Based Isolation and Care. 54 patients are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 16 of whom are on ventilatory support, and 32 on supplemental oxygen,” read the statement.

It added, “Another 93 patients are separately on supplementary oxygen out of whom 73 are in the general wards and 20 are in the High Dependency Unit (HDU).”

Nairobi recorded 649 cases with Lang’ata leading with 225, Dagoretti North 58, Roysambu 41, Dagoretti South and Starehe had 37 cases each, while Westlands recorded 34.

In other areas, Ruaraka had 32, Kamukunji 28, Mathare 2) Embakasi West 24, Makadara 21, Kasarani 20, Embakasi North 17, Kibra 16, Embakasi Central 15, Embakasi East 13 and four cases were reported in Embakasi South.