This archive report was first published on 22 August 2020.
COVID-19 Cases Surge in Kenya ¶
Kenya continues to experience a rise in COVID-19 cases, with an increase in cumulative caseload and mortality since restrictions were lifted on July 6, 2020.
Nairobi County alone accounts for 59% of cases, while the top ten counties account for 93% of all cases.
As of yesterday, all 47 counties had reported cases, with Nairobi bearing the most burden at 18,488, followed by Kiambu with 2,335, then Mombasa with 2,260, and Kajiado with 1,727.
Health Chief Administrative Secretary Dr. Mercy Mwangangi noted that Nairobi and Mombasa Counties continue to record the highest attack rates of COVID-19, at 420.5 and 187 per 100,000 population respectively, when compared to the national average of 66.1.
Dr. Mwangangi explained that 30,854 cases, equivalent to 98% of the 31,441 confirmed cases, are local transmissions, and from the confirmed cases, 20,236 are males while 11,205 are females.
She emphasized that most of the cases, 10,283, which is about 33%, are in the age group of 30-39 years, and that this should be a wake-up call to all our youth, that this disease is real, and is claiming lives.
The case fatality rate now stands at 1.6%, with 516 confirmed deaths, out of which 386 are males and 130 are females.
Dr. Mwangangi also noted that the average positivity rate stands at 7.9% from a total of 396,176 tests, that have so far been conducted since the pandemic struck the Country in March, while the laboratory test rate currently stands at 8,329 samples per 1,000,000 people.
She further explained that out of the 31,441 confirmed cases, 2,074, which is about 7%, were symptomatic, 51% of these showed symptoms of cough, and 37% had symptoms of fever, while 27% had difficulty in breathing.
Dr. Mwangangi emphasized that stigmatization of patients remains a matter of great concern and appealed to people not to stigmatize those who have recovered as anyone can get the disease.
On today's statistics, Dr. Mwangangi said that out of 4,470 samples tested in the last 24 hours, 322 people have tested positive, bringing to 31,763 the number of confirmed positive cases, pushing our cumulative tests to 412,080.
From the cases today, all are Kenyans except nine (9) who are foreigners, with 179 males and 143 females. The youngest case is a three-year-old baby, while the oldest is 92 years.
288 patients have today recovered from the disease, with 190 being from the Home-Based Care program, while 98 have been discharged from various hospitals. This brings the total number of recoveries now stands at 18,157.
Unfortunately, 16 patients have succumbed to the disease, bringing the fatality rate to 532.
