CORONAVIRUS IN STATE HOUSE – 4 CONFIRMED
Four people have been confirmed to have COVID-19 at State House, Nairobi, Kenya. State House Spokesperson Kanze Dena said in a statement.
Like similar confirmed cases, the four were admitted Kenyatta University Referral Hospital.
The cases are said to have been confirmed during the mass testing of Coronavirus that was done on June 11th.
The testing was done on everyone who works in State House. This includes President Uhuru Kenyatta, First Lady Margaret Kenyatta and other members of their family. Kanze Dena assured the country that the President Kenyatta and First Lady are free from coronavirus.
The government is engaging in contact tracing to ensure that anyone who came into contact with the four State House workers is tested.
The News comes at a time when the ministry of health has confirmed additional cases around the country. Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said that 133 people had tested positive within the last 24 hours. This came from 3,365 samples that were tested.
Mutahi Kagwe released the day’s statement in Nyandarua, where he was on a tour of the health facilities in the county.
The ages of the new cases ranged between 1-70 years. Like previous statistics, there were more males than female, with the numbers being 93 to 40 respectively.
Mombasa has the highest number of cases at 61, followed by Nairobi at 53. Kilifi had 7, Busia had 6, Kiambu had 2 while Nakuru, Murang’a, Kitui and Kajiado had 1 case each.
The cases in Mombasa were recorded in the following regions: Likoni had 24, Mvita had 19, Nyali had 7, Kisauni had 5, Changamwe had 5, while Jomvu had one case.
In Nairobi, the cases were reported at in the following areas: Mathare had 10, Kamukunji had 9, Westlands had 6, Starehe had 5, Makadara had 4. Embakasi East, Embakasi West and Kibra had three. Kasarani, Embakasi South and Ruaraka had 2. Lang’ata, Dagoretti South, Dagoretti North and Embakasi Central had one.
In Kilifi, Rabai was where all the seven cases were reported. In Busia, Busia POE had four cases, while Nambale and Bumala had one case each.
In Kiambu all cases were from Kiambu Town. In Kajiado, the case was reported in Kajiado Central. In Nakuru, the case was from Nakuru West. The case in Murang’a was in Maragwa while the one in Kitui was in Kitui Central.
CS Mutahi also said that the total number of people discharged from hospital was 33. This means that the total number of recoveries in Kenya was now at 1,286.
Sadly, one patient succumbed to coronavirus. This brings the total number of people to die from COVID-19 is now at 104.
While touring health facilities in Nyandarua, the CS noted that the county was one of the 9 that has not recorded a case of Coronavirus in Kenya. Mutahi Kagwe appealed to the residents of the county to make sure this is the case moving forward.
Further statements are expected from State House spokesperson Kanze Dena, as Kenyans will be very curious to know the progress of the confirmed cases, wishing quick recovery to those infected, while hoping no one else will be infected.
Experts have warned that Kenya’s curve of infections will continue to rise. This means that no part of the country should expect to be safe. Kenya’s case will be worsened by the easing of restrictions by the ministry of health and interior that were announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta. Kenyans have also been accused of downplaying the COVID-19 pandemic, by not observing the measures proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Kenya’s Ministry of Health. Another threat facing Kenya is the behavior of some neighboring countries who have been accused of not responding adequately to the pandemic.
See Kanze Dena Full Statement.
By James Okoth