10 people die of coronavirus as cases rise by 637

The Ministry of Health on Wednesday reported 637 new coronavirus cases after testing 4,275 samples within a period of 24 hours.

The country’s total caseload has now scaled to 14,805 out of the total 25,4273 samples tested since the first case on March 13, 2020.

Ten more patients, however, succumbed to the virus raising the country’s death toll to 260.

Of the new cases reported today, 361 are males and 276 are females, all aged between one-year-old and 88 years old.

The new cases are distributed as follows; Nairobi (342), Machakos (85), Kajiado (57), Kiambu (51), Nakuru (22), Mombasa (17), Nyeri (13), Busia (10), Murang’a (9), Uasin Gishu (6), Bomet (5), Kericho (3), Kisii (3) and Marsabit (2).

During the daily briefing on the status of the pandemic, Health Chief Administrative Secretary Rashid Aman said 499 patients had also recovered from the bug, 93 had been in various hospitals while the rest were under the home-based care.

While urging Kenyans to embrace the home-based care that is cost-effective towards the recovery of the patient, the CAS revealed that 2,738 Kenyans had been released from the programme in the last two weeks.

“We had a number of sceptics who questioned the value of this programme but now I’m sure with the successes we have been vindicated,” he said, terming it as a major success in the fight against the disease that has ravaged our country and put the lives of many Kenyans at risk.

“90 per cent of Kenyan’s Covid-19 cases are asymptomatic who can, therefore, be managed from home. This means that our facilities will have to care for the remaining 10 per cent of Covid-19 positive patients,” he added.

The CAS highlighted the rising numbers in Kiambu county which has recorded 274 cases in one week compared to Mombasa’s 85 cases. Mombasa coronavirus cases have continued to dip.

“If Mombasa can do it, then Mombasa, Kiambu, Nairobi can do it. Let us ensure that the measures that have been put in place are adhered to,” he said.

Kenya has seen a surge in coronavirus cases after relaxing some of the measures that were put in place to curb the virus.

Following this, President Uhuru Kenyatta has summoned governors for a summit on Monday, next week that will seek to assess the country’s preparedness for Covid-19 and review containment measures that were eased on July 6.

"The Session has been convened following a surge in Covid-19 infections across our Nation; with the disease having now manifested in 44 of our 47 counties,” read the Monday statement from Statehouse.

The Head of State had warned of the possibility of reverting to a lockdown should the spread of the virus pose a threat to the health infrastructure.

Council of Governors Chairman Wycliffe Oparanya has expressed a strong preference for locking down the most affected counties to limit the spread of the virus.