140 positive cases can't be traced

The government is looking for 140 people whose Covid-19 test results came back positive but could not be reached.

These individuals are said to have shown up for the ongoing targeted mass testing but left the wrong contact details.

This emerged yesterday as the government announced 127 new cases of the virus, with emphasis that the disease has now established itself in the community.

The Health ministry said despite hundreds of Kenyans showing up for mass testing, some individuals left the wrong phone numbers.

Others when the callers identified themselves as officers from the Ministry of Health handling Covid-19, they say it is the wrong number.

Health Director-General Patrick Amoth said the government was looking for this group, noting that most of them were from the declared hotspots.

“Most of them are from areas we run mass testing in, like Eastleigh, Old Town and Kawangware. We will catch up with them,” he said.

Eastleigh in Nairobi and Old Town in Mombasa are currently on lockdown as a containment measure until June 6.

Movement into and out of Nairobi and Mombasa has also been restricted.

Health Chief Administrative Secretary Mercy Mwangangi yesterday however noted that some people were sneaking out of these areas.

“Sneaking out of these areas is sneaking out the virus. Those doing so might think it is a heroic act but they are taking the virus to their families,” said the CAS.

Mwangangi said even with the increasing numbers, it appeared people had thrown caution to the wind, with some boda boda operators, supermarkets and banking halls no longer adhering to stipulated rules. “We want to remind Kenyans that the situation has not stabilised yet,” she said.

The CAS, who issued the briefing yesterday, said Nairobi was still the epicentre of the virus, as it reported 76 new cases, followed by Mombasa with 19.

Other counties are Busia with 16, Uasin Gishu (eight), Kiambu (two), Kajiado (five) and Isiolo with one.

In Nairobi, Kibra had a new high with 49 cases, followed by Ruaraka's 13, Makadara's four, Westlands's four, Lang'ata's two, and one each in Embakasi West, Kasarani, Dagoretti North, and Starehe.

Kisauni led in Mombasa with seven, followed by Mvita with six, Likoni's two, Nyali's three and one in Jomvu. “The battle of this disease is no longer in Nairobi, but has moved to the counties,” Amoth said.

These new cases are from a sample size of 3,831; the highest so far tested in the country within 24 hours.

The infection rate in this sample is 3.3 per cent, lower than the previous day’s 5.1 per cent, when the country recorded the highest number of cases in 24 hours.

Mwangangi said the increase in the number of cases was as a result of an increase in the number of samples tested.

She, however, warned that the number of samples does not directly infer that more people have been tested. A total of 74,003 samples have been tested so far.

Test runs

“One confirmatory test can consume more than one test run. We have people who can consume four or six test runs,” she explains.

Since March 12, a total 1,745 confirmed cases have been reported in the country. So far 438 people have recovered from the disease, while 62 have died. Four of these deaths were reported yesterday, and all occurred in Mombasa.

“They all had underlying health conditions, ranging from diabetes, hypertension and asthma. So if you have any such condition make sure you take your medicine and ensure you adhere to the measures,” said Mwangangi.

Amoth said there were 671 cases across 37 hospitals in the country, with 130 others quarantined at their homes. “These are patients who are aged, breastfeeding of asymptomatic,” he explained.

Another 30 are foreigners, among them truck drivers who were repatriated at their government’s request.

“It is in the spirit of East African Community and they requested their nationals to be taken back to their countries for isolation,” said Amoth.

A total 274 positive cases - 127 reported yesterday and 147 on Thursday - are in different stages of being admitted to hospital.