This archive report was first published on 5 July 2020.
Kenya's Covid-19 cases have reached 7,886, with 309 new infections reported on Sunday, according to the Health ministry.
Health Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Rashid Aman attributed the rise in cases to public 'bad behaviour', including the relaxation of preventive measures by passenger service vehicles, boda boda riders, and other service providers in rural areas.
Dr Aman expressed concern that house parties are being held and that individuals are not adhering to basic measures to curb the spread of the virus, including regular handwashing and maintaining social distance.
He noted that the country has recently been reporting hundreds of cases of the virus every day, with the majority of cases recorded in Nairobi, which led with 193 new cases, followed by Kajiado with 22.
Dr Aman also reported that 51 people had been discharged from hospital, raising the country's total number of recoveries to 2,287.
He highlighted the statistics for the last few days, which showed a worrying trend, with Kenya recording 120 Covid-19 cases on Monday, 176 on Tuesday, 307 on Wednesday, 268 on Thursday, 247 on Friday, and a record 389 on Saturday.
Dr Aman emphasized that the rising infections imply that many more people will require critical care, and that the country's healthcare facilities risk being overwhelmed.
He urged individuals to take personal responsibility and adhere to preventive measures to curb the spread of the virus, adding that the expectation to have an enforcement officer to police every person is not possible.
Dr Aman also highlighted the need for the country to rise up to the occasion and be responsible citizens, failure to which the disease will decimate society.
He noted that there are reports that critical care hospital units for Covid-19 cases are overwhelmed, and that the capacity to admit critically sick patients is still weak, with only 23 out of the 47 counties having attained the 300 isolation bed capacity as directed by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Dr Aman emphasized that while the death rate is within the recommended global standard, it should still remain of great concern to the country, as no life should be lost under any circumstance.
