Covid-19 recoveries surpass new cases for the first time

Health Chief Administrative Secretary Rashid Aman gives the daily Covid-19 briefing at Afya House in Nairobi. 

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • This is the first time since March when Kenya reported its first case that recoveries are higher than infections.
  • Yesterday statistics also show that for the first time more women than men had tested positive.

Covid-19 recoveries have outnumbered new infections in a single day, signalling slowing transmission rates.

The Ministry of Health Tuesday reported 173 individuals had recovered from the disease while 151 tested positive from a sample of 2,552.

This is the first time since March when Kenya reported its first case that recoveries are higher than infections.

“The numbers show that transmission of the virus has been curtailed to some extent and is not spreading as fast as before,” said Health CAS Rashid Aman during the daily Covid-19 briefing from Afya House.

Kenya shut down bars on March 25 and last month banned restaurants from selling alcohol to contain the virus.

President Uhuru Kenyatta extended a nationwide curfew for 30 days, saying coronavirus cases were rising in areas outside Nairobi and Mombasa.

The 151 new cases now push the number of confirmed infections across the country to 35,356.

Yesterday statistics show that for the first time more women than men had tested positive. A total of 77 of the new cases are female while 74 are male.