Covid-19: Kenya records 66 new cases, positivity rate of 3.6pc

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe addresses a press conference during the opening of a high dependency maternity and new born unit at the Othaya-KNH hospital annex in Nyeri County on May 7, 2021. 

Photo credit: Joseph Kanyi | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • CS Kagwe further announced that the number of recoveries had risen by 1,737 to 112,298, adding 1,580 of the patients were treated at home and 157 in hospital.

Kenya on Monday recorded 66 new Covid-19 cases from a sample of 1,833 tested within a day, which placed the positivity rate at 3.6 per cent, its lowest in weeks.

The Health ministry said the number of confirmed cases since last March had reached 163,620 while the number of tests carried out so far stood at 1,721,122.

Out of those new patients, 65 were Kenyans and one a foreigner, 45 male and 21 female, the youngest six years old and the oldest 81.

Nairobi County remained in the lead with 32 new infections and was followed by Kisii with 11, Meru five, Uasin Gishu four, Nakuru three, and Elgeyo Marakwet, Homa Bay, Kakamega, Kericho, Kiambu, Laikipia, Mombasa, Nandi, Nyandarua, Trans Nzoia and Turkana one each.

Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe also reported 12 more deaths but explained that one occurred over the last one month while 11 were late death reports confirmed during the audit of facility records. The death toll rose to 2,907.

CS Kagwe further announced that the number of recoveries had risen by 1,737 to 112,298, adding 1,580 of the patients were treated at home and 157 in hospital.

By Monday, 1,122 patients had been admitted to health facilities countrywide while 4,783 were under home-based isolation and care.

One hundred and thirty four patients were under intensive care, 23 of them on ventilator support, 85 on supplemental oxygen and 26 under observation.

Another 89 patients were separately on supplementary oxygen, 83 of them in general wards and six in high dependency units.

In terms of vaccination, the Health ministry said, at least 917,068 people had taken the jab by Monday, among them  77,517 security officers, 143,684 teachers, 160,947 health workers as well as 280,876 people aged 58 and an unclassified group of 254,144 people.