This archive report was first published on 11 July 2020.
Kenya's Covid-19 cases have been steadily increasing, with the latest update showing a rise of 278 cases on Saturday, bringing the total to 9,726 since the first case was reported on March 13.
Health Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Mercy Mwangangi gave the update in Kwale County, where officials from the ministry were visiting devolved units to assess their plans for fighting the disease and determine the support they need.
As of Saturday, the officials had visited Makueni, Kilifi, and Mombasa counties as well.
Dr Mwangangi also reported that the number of recoveries had risen to 2,832, with 99 more patients being discharged.
The death toll increased by three to reach 184.
According to Dr Mwangangi, the new cases were found following the testing of 1,403 samples in the last 24 hours, raising the total number of samples tested in the country in four months to 207,987.
Nairobi and Mombasa remained the two counties with the highest numbers of cases, with 5,350 and 1,722 cases, respectively.
Dr Mwangangi urged the public to follow guidelines issued by the government to ensure there is no flare-up of cases as many travel upcountry with the reopening of county borders.
"Individual responsibility is key in fighting the disease as the government upgrades health facilities with necessary infrastructure to contain the pandemic," she said.
Dr Mwangangi praised Kwale County for fulfilling the requirement for at least 300 beds for Covid-19 patients, with 424 beds available as of Saturday.
She noted that Kwale had recorded 139 cases of the virus as of July 11, but that no patients were being treated in hospital.
Governor Salim Mvurya said Kwale is sufficiently prepared to fight the disease and has been testing samples at a local laboratory.
He also said health workers have been trained on giving home-based care as the government works to minimize congestion at health facilities.
