| PHOTO: | Health Cabinet secretary Mutahi Kagwe during the Covid-19 daily briefing at Afya House in Nairobi on June 4, 2020. |
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By:
Nasibo Kabale
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| Posted:
Sep,06-2020 15:39:06
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Kenya on Sunday reported a record low of 83 new cases of the coronavirus amid heightened measures to curb local transmission of the virus as it aims to flatten the infection curve.
This number, the lowest in slightly over three months,raised the country's total number of declared Covid-19 cases to 35,103.
In a statement, Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Mutahi Kagwe said the new patients were found following the testing of 3,093 samples in the last 24 hours.This raised the total number of samples tested in the country since March to 474,477.
The virus was first reported in Wuhan, China, on December 31, 2019 and in Kenya on March 13, 2020.
CS Kagwe also announced that the total number of recovered patients in Kenya had risen to 21,230 as 72 more patients had been discharged. He said 39 of them were in the home-based care programme and 33 in various hospitals.
The death toll rose by three to reach 597.
Seventy seven of the new patients were Kenyans and six foreigners living in the country. Male patients were 58 in number and female patients 25 whereas the youngest one was a year old and the oldest 85.
Nairobi accounted for 27 of the new cases, Busia 15, Kisumu 12, Nakuru and Machakos seven each, Kiambu five, Laikipia and Kisii three each, and Kirinyaga, Mombasa, Nyandarua and Uasin Gishu one each.
Kenya's peak
The low number is an indication that the first wave is probably over as indicated by the Ministry of Health.
The proportion of those testing positive has been dropping gradually over the past couple of weeks, even dipping below the five per cent mark for a flattening curve, as stated by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the past few days.
According to a study by the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) and the Ministry of Health, the country hit the peak before the end of July.
The study, however, shows that some parts of the country are likely to experience their peak within two to three months.
Despite the increase in infections among residents of Nairobi and Mombasa counties, the researchers noted that reported severe cases and deaths have remained low.
As such, their analysis suggests the Covid-19 disease burden in Kenya may be far less than initially feared.
The Ministry of Health has however cautioned Kenyans against celebrating the decline in the number of coronavirus cases, stating that the next two weeks will determine whether the current containment measures will be lifted.
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