Twelve more people have tested positive for COVID-19 raising the numbers to 246 after nine more were announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday in his Presidential address.
The health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, in a press briefing at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Friday morning, 17th April 2020, has said the 12 who have tested positive in the last 24 hours are among 450 samples tested since Thursday noon.
The 12 newly announced positive cases according to CS Kagwe are five (5) hotel workers and four (4) are from contact tracing in different parts of the country.
CS Kagwe has made the announcement in his visit to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to receive a consignment of medical supplies from China to help combat the spread of COVID-19.
The consignment was transported by national carrier Kenya Airways using one of its Dreamliners and CS Kagwe was there to inspect the consignment.
“Your compliance fellow Kenyans, with distancing, wearing of masks, the hygiene advisories, these small and basic actions are protecting other Kenyans and even your own families.” President Uhuru had said yesterday in his address where nine people had tested positive for COVID-19.
“We love and respect our elderly fellow Kenyans, our grandmothers, and grandfathers. They are so vulnerable to COVID-19. So it is important that each one of us do the right thing and show our care for them by doing as our medical experts are advising us,” President Uhuru said urging Kenyans to stay safe for the sake of the elderly in their families.
“Our measures are slowing the rate the disease (COVID-19) would be spreading, but we must be honest and say that there are still infections underway in nearly half of our counties,” President Uhuru noted thanking the medics for leading in the war.
“We have lost 11 people to COVID-19 and nearly one thousand are still in quarantine, and 156 in isolation facilities. Fellow Kenyans, these are not just numbers. These are people, human beings,” the President spoke of the infections that have since risen to 246 after CS Kagwe has announced 12 more confirmed cases.
“None of these people set out to be infected, we can all be infected if we are not extremely careful. COVID-19 is not a respecter of age, status, ethnicity or race: we have even seen leaders of countries get infected and had to seek serious medical attention,” the President said urging Kenyans not to underestimate the destruction the virus could cause if not controlled.
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