This archive report was first published on 18 July 2020.
As Kenya records its highest number of Covid-19 infections, concerns have been raised about the long time it is now taking to release coronavirus test results, considering the increasing risk of spreading the virus.
According to Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe, Kenya recorded 688 infections in a single day on Saturday, with the number of infections since the first case in March increasing to 12,750.
However, the government is facing a crisis over a shortage of testing kits and reagents at a time when the numbers of positive cases are rising.
As of Friday, only 233,641 people had been tested against a target of one million, with the situation worsened by the closure of testing centres.
The Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) and Kenyatta National Hospital's Infectious Diseases Unit at Mbagathi are no longer testing the public, leaving many with no idea of where they can get tested.
Dr Mamo Umuro, head of National Public Health Laboratory, said they do not serve walk-in patients but instead send rapid response teams to people in quarantine and those identified as contacts of those who have the coronavirus.
Kenya now has 20 operational laboratories approved by the Kenya Medical Laboratory Technicians and Technologists Board, but even with this, the country has not kept up pace with other countries in testing for coronavirus.
