Kenya records 1,488 new Covid cases as demand for oxygen rises
Kenya's Health ministry has the demand for medical oxygen in is on the rise as more Covid-19 patients are hospitalised..
Kenya has Tuesday recorded 1,488 more Covid-19 infections, with the Health ministry saying the demand for oxygen in hospitals is on the rise.
The new cases were reported from a sample size of 9,773 tested in the past 24 hours. With the new infections, the Covid-19 positivity rate rose to 15.2 per cent up from 11.9 per cent the previous day.
From the new cases, 1,442 are Kenyans while 46 are foreigners. The total confirmed positive cases are now 222,894 with cumulative tests conducted so far being 2,268,923.
Nairobi County still leads in the number of new infections at 486, followed by Kiambu with 152, Nakuru 135, Nyeri 64, Machakos 61, Uasin Gishu 61, Kajiado 57, Murang’a 45, Kitui 42, Embu 37, Mombasa 33, Busia 31, Nandi 28, Baringo 27, Marsabit 27, Turkana 18, Garissa 17, Meru 16, Nyandarua 14, Kakamega 12, Kericho 12, Kirinyaga 12, Lamu 11, Kisii 10, Kisumu 10, Kwale 8, Kilifi 7, Migori 6, Tharaka Nithi 6, Wajir 5, Narok 5, Elgeyo Marakwet 5, Isiolo 5, Laikipia 4, Nyamira 4, Siaya 4, Makueni 4, West Pokot 3, Taita Taveta 2, Homa Bay 1 and Bungoma 1.
The number of recoveries from the virus increased by 1,814 to 205,912. Among the new recoveries, 1,576 were from home-based care while 238 from various hospitals.
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said that four more patients had succumbed to the virus, raising the toll to 4,354. But he explained that all deaths were late reports confirmed after the audit of facility records in August.
More hospitalised
In a statement to media houses, CS Kagwe noted that the number of Covid-19 patients requiring hospitalisation has increased.
According to Mr Kagwe, the situation has resulted in greater demand for oxygen as many of the patients are in need of it.
Due to the current situation, the CS has urged county governments to enhance their oxygen capacity by improving on infrastructure and supply of the commodity to hospitals.
“Of particular interest is piping for supply to beds as opposed to provision of stand-alone cylinders. Piping will not only increase efficiency, but will also make it possible for more patients to be served at the same time,” Mr Kagwe noted.
As of Tuesday, CS Kagwe noted that 1,970 patients had been admitted to hospitals countrywide while 8,408 were under home-based care. Of those in hospital, 147 were under intensive care, 74 of them on ventilator support, 72 on supplemental oxygen and one under observation.
Another 781 patients were separately on supplemental oxygen, 724 of them in general wards and 57 in high dependency units.
As of August 16, 2021, a total of 2,101,403 vaccine doses had been administered across the country. Of these, total first doses are 1,346,861 while second doses are 754,542.
The uptake rate of the second dose was 56 per cent, with the majority of the patients being male (55 per cent) while the proportion of fully vaccinated adults was 2.8 per cent.
