Why go to a lab that is giving questionable results? Kagwe tells Kenyans regarding Lancet

Health CS Mutahi Kagwe on Thursday said that the Ministry of Health was currently reviewing Lancet after reports revealed that some patients who tested positive for Covid-19 later tested negative after a second test.

While giving the daily Covid-19 update in Nakuru, Kagwe said the Ministry has a responsibility to safeguard the health of Kenyans but the public should also avoid labs that give conflicting results.

“Why should you go to a lab that is giving questionable results? However, we have asked our board to monitor the situation,” he said.

Lancet CEO Dr Ahmed Kalebi on Wednesday set the record straight as he sought to explain the conflicting results among patients.

He used an analogy of two photos of a pimpled face taken at different times using different cameras.

“A photo of a face that shows pimple(s) may be looked at differently e.g. expert cosmetic dermatologist may interpret what they see in finer details compared to a non-expert medical person or a layperson.

“The level of knowledge thus affects interpretation of results,” he tweeted.

Dr Kalebi stated that the tests conducted by Lancet are very specific and maintained that positive results are real.

Asked whether the country might go back to a lockdown, Kagwe said the numbers being recorded at the moment were expected but asked Kenyans to adhere to the guidelines issue.

“By opening up the country we believed that Kenyans had attained a level of responsibility. You asked for freedom and we gave it you.

“But freedom comes with consequences,” he remarked.

This comes as the country recorded 421 new cases, taking the national tally to 11673.

Out of this number, 409 are Kenyans while 12 are foreigners.

Unfortunately, eight patients succumbed to the virus, bringing the number of fatalities to 217.

Kagwe accused men of not adhering to the set guidelines, saying the infection rate among women is low since they are using masks properly.

“These are the cases we know of. Assume the next person to you is positive. If you go to the market and the vendor does not have a mask, do not buy from them,” he said.