Kenya Confirms 667 New Covid-19 Cases In 24 Hours

The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Kenya has now hit 16,268 after 667 new cases were confirmed in the last 24 hours after testing 5,075 samples.

According to the Ministry of Health, 11 patients have succumbed to the virus taking the total number of fatalities to 274. A total of 311 have recovered and discharged from various hospitals taking the total number of recoveries to 7,446.

Of the 311 patients who have been discharged, 166 are from home-based care while 145 are from various hospitals across the country.

Nairobi continues to lead with the highest number of confirmed cases, accounting for 387 cases in the last 24 hours. The government has since abandoned mass testing of Kenyans for Covid-19 but says that the rapid response team is on the lookout for any cases.

The Ministry says the country has around 12,000 HDU beds for Covid-19 patients with 498 ICU beds. Currently, the number of Covid-19 ICU patients across the country is about 50 with the total number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals standing at 1,179.

Covid-19 cases have been rising with each passing day ever since President Uhuru Kenyatta lifted the cessation of movement in and out of the counties of Nairobi, Mombasa, and Mandera.

Local flights resumed on July 15, 2020, while International flights are set to resume on August 1, 2020.

President Uhuru Kenyatta is set to meet with governors and county government representatives on Monday to discuss the surge in Covid-19 cases.

The Head of State is expected to announce the way forward after the meeting. On July 6, President Uhuru said that the government would impose another lockdown if Kenyans will fail to adhere to the rules.

So, the Ministry of Health has blamed the increase in the cases on the failure by the majority of Kenyans to follow the rules including wearing of the masks.

There have been calls on President Uhuru Kenyatta to impose stricter measures in his next address to the nation. Some Kenyans, however, feel measures such as total lockdown in counties such as Nairobi will hit the economy.

During the week, President Uhuru banned Cabinet Secretaries such as Eugine Wamalwa from holding political gatherings out of Nairobi.