This archive report was first published on 21 May 2020.
Kenya has reported a rise in COVID-19 cases, with 80 new cases announced on Thursday, May 21, bringing the total to 1,109. The new cases were spread across various counties, including Mombasa, Nairobi, Siaya, Kwale, Garissa, and Taita Taveta.
Seven of the new cases were mourners who had traveled from Kibera slum in Nairobi to attend a burial in Siaya. According to Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, the seven had obtained a permit illegally to attend the burial, which was a major breach of the government's COVID-19 regulations.
"The Siaya story is a sad one because the departure point of that case is actually in Kibera, somebody in Kibera without the authority to authorize anybody to travel signed a document that allowed and was respected by police all the way from Kibera taking mourners for a funeral in Siaya," Kagwe said at a news conference.
Kenya is implementing a dusk to dawn curfew and cessation of movement in and out of Eastleigh estate in Nairobi and Old Town area of Mombasa to contain the spread of the virus. Public health officials are projecting the peak for COVID-19 in August or September, with up to 200 cases expected to be recorded daily.
