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.