This archive report was first published on 8 July 2020.
Kenya's Health Cabinet Secretary, Mutahi Kagwe, has expressed concern over the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country, with 8,528 people contracting the virus as of Wednesday.
Speaking during a tour to assess COVID-19 preparedness in Makueni County, Kagwe noted that four healthcare workers from the county have fallen victim to the virus, out of a total of 257 nationwide.
"Looking at the case load in the country, 8,528 people have contracted the virus. Out of this number, 44 are from Makueni County from a sample size of 299," Kagwe said.
He commended healthcare workers for their dedication and sacrifice, saying, "There can never be a higher level of individual sacrifice than this. As a nation, we are all indebted to you."
As part of efforts to boost capacity, the Ministry of Health has hired 252 healthcare personnel for Makueni County, with another 110 in the process of being recruited.
"My ministry shall continue to work very closely with the counties to upscale their level of readiness to deal with this pandemic," Kagwe said.
He praised Makueni County for achieving a 300-bed isolation capacity, as well as two ICU and 20 HDU beds, and two quarantine facilities.
"The mental readiness of an individual to follow directives is critical," Kagwe noted, emphasizing the need for cooperation from the public to contain the spread of the virus.
As of Wednesday, 278 people had tested positive from 3,053 samples, bringing the total case load to 8,528 from 196,508 samples tested so far.
89 patients were discharged, bringing the number of recoveries to 2,593, while two more succumbed to the virus, taking the tally of fatalities to 169.
