Covid-19: Kenya cases hit 12,750 with record high of 688 infections

Kenya has hit another record high of 688 cases of Covid-19 in a single day, raising the country's total number of confirmed cases of the virus to 12,750.

Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Mutahi Kagwe, in a tour of Embu County on Saturday, also announced that three more patients had died and that 457 patients had recovered.

This raised the death toll to 225 and the total number of recoveries 4,440. Of the 457 recovered patients, 401 were under home-based care while 56 were in hospital.

The ministry said the 688 new infections were found following the testing of 4,522 samples, bringing the total number of samples tested in Kenya by July 18 to 238,163.

Four hundred and twenty five of the new patients were male and 263 female while the youngest was seven months old and the oldest 95.

CS Kagwe further announced that Tana River had become the 44th of 47 counties to record a case of the virus. 

He also noted that Nairobi had the highest number of total infections (7,298) and was followed by Mombasa with 1,812 and Kiambu with 725.

RISING NUMBERS

Kenya's number of coronavirus cases has been increasing steadily following the reopening of county borders. 

The ministry regretted that many people have disregarded the basic measures for preventing the spread of Covid-19, key among them being wearing masks in public.

As such, CS Kagwe reiterated the need for personal responsibility, asking members of the public to "save each other" as the government continued to do "everything possible" to curb the virus.

He discouraged inter-county travel and all types of gatherings, noting it is better to keep off until the pandemic is contained.

"This disease is here with us. We must invest to fight the virus. Take individual responsibility to save your child, your mother, your father, your friend ... Let’s save each other. You save me, I save you,” he said at Embu County Referral Hospital.

Regarding political gatherings, he said, "When a politician calls a public gathering, you have a choice - to go there or not. Take personal responsibility. Don’t go there. You don’t have to be there."

HOME CARE

In his address, Dr Patrick Amoth, the acting Director-General of Health Services,  said 1,010 patients had been admitted in hospitals countrywide with 40 of them in ICUs. Of those in ICU, 22 were on ventilator support, 15 on supplemental oxygen and three under observation.

Dr Amoth noted that 90 per cent of Kenya’s Covid-19 cases are asymptomatic hence the need to streamline home-based care.

"The cost of managing asymptomatic patients in institutions is about Sh21,000 per day, driven primarily by use of personal protective equipment, so we will save a significant amount of money and patients will recover in environments more familiar to them."

The requirements for home-based care include, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) include having a positive Covid-19 test from a certified laboratory; being asymptomatic; not having any coexisting conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, cancer and chronic kidney disease; and having a space sufficient for isolation and a caregiver.

Dr Amoth said patients under home-based care will be monitored for 14 days and recommendations made on whether they need transfers to hospitals.

He said 60,000 community health volunteers had been trained to supervise home-based care and make referrals based on the state of patients.

COUNTY PREPAREDNESS

Officials from the Health ministry have been visiting counties to assess the steps they have taken to deal with cases of the virus.

Mr Kagwe noted that such visits help the government to identify gaps in healthcare, make investments and meet and honour frontline health workers.

CS Kagwe said that Embu, whose governor is Mr Martin Wambora, had 360 isolations bed as of Friday, more than the government's required minimum of 330, as well as 18 beds for patients in intensive care units.

As of July 18, the county had two patients and 21 people at quarantine facilities.

So far, the ministry has visited counties including Makeuni, Murang'a, Nakuru, Mombasa and Kwale.

Governor Wambora announced that Sh48 million in risk allowances would be given to health workers in the county.

He said 1,562 health workers had been trained on dealing with the pandemic and 2,000 residents educated about the disease.

"We are on high alert. We don't want to record more cases so we are working hard to save lives," he said.