This archive report was first published on 24 June 2020.
On June 24, 2020, the Health ministry in Kenya reported a significant shift in the behavior of people with acute Covid-19 symptoms, who are increasingly seeking help at local hospitals.
This change in behavior has led to a drop in home deaths, with the majority of new Covid-19 deaths now being reported by hospitals.
Health Services director general Patrick Amoth hailed the interventions that have pushed this behavior change, particularly in counties like Mombasa where seriously sick people now seek medical care at health facilities.
According to Dr. Amoth, by mid-last month, close to 30 percent of the reported 50 deaths had happened at home, with Mombasa accounting for most of the home deaths at the time.
However, since then, an additional 80 deaths had been recorded, but a majority had happened at a health facility, said Dr. Amoth.
“Initially, especially in Mombasa, we recorded a number of home-based deaths but because of intensified interventions and behaviour change communication by the team in Mombasa, we are recording fewer community based deaths,” said Dr. Amoth.
On Wednesday, the ministry announced 254 new cases, bringing the total to 5,206 in the country, with Nairobi and Mombasa counties having the highest infection rate of Covid-19 at 107.9 and 55.2 per 100,000 population respectively.
