This archive report was first published on 18 June 2020.
Kenya has confirmed 184 new Covid-19 cases, pushing the national tally to 4,044, with the Ministry of Health warning against the use of unlicensed rapid testing kits.
Health Chief Administrative Secretary Rashid Aman expressed concerns over the quality of the rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), which are said to give results within 15 minutes, stating that they cannot be relied upon to determine a person's Covid-19 status.
According to Mr Aman, the RDTs are only authorised for use in research and surveillance, and the Health Ministry plans to use them for surveillance purposes to determine the extent of the Covid-19 spread in the country.
He emphasized that only the real-time polymerase chain reaction, used to test the presence of an antigen, is approved for Covid-19 testing in Kenya.
Mr Aman also announced that Covid-19 cases have spread to 40 counties, with Nairobi recording the highest number of cases at 111, followed by Mombasa, Kajiado, and Meru with 19, 14, and 13 cases, respectively.
He warned Kenyans to keep off unlicensed establishments offering the tests, stating that the situation is serious and a cause for concern.
On a positive note, 27 people recovered from the virus, bringing the total recoveries to 1,353, while two deaths were reported, bringing the total deaths to 107.
