21 COVID-linked deaths reported, positivity rate at 10.3pc » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 4 – The Ministry of Health on Saturday reported 21 virus-linked deaths, all of them picked from audit records in May, August and September.

The newly registered deaths raised the total number of fatalities resulting from the virus since it was reported in March 2020, to 4,778.

Those aged 60 and above accounted for most deaths at 15, those aged between 50 and 59 accounting for 2 deaths, those aged between 40 and 49 accounted for a single death, while those aged between 30 to 39 accounted for a single death as well.

The ministry also reported 840 new COVID-19 cases from a sample size of 8,129, bringing the country’s positivity rate to 10.3 per cent.

Nairobi, Nyeri, Nakuru, Murang’a, Kiambu, Uasin Gishu and Kajiado recorded the highest number of cases at 252, 73, 59, 52, 52, 46 and 41 respectively.

The Ministry of Health further said there were 147 patients who were at the Intensive Care Unit, 92 of whom were on ventilatory support and 46 on supplemental oxygen.

A total of 1,863 patients were reported to be admitted in various health facilities, while 4,937 were on home-based care program.

Another 767 patients were on supplemental oxygen with 700 of them in general wards and 67 in High Dependency Units.

The number of those who had recovered from the disease rose to 227,274 after 1,237 more patients recovered.

As of September 3, a total of 2,854,662 vaccines had been administered.

The proportion of fully vaccinated adult population stood at 2.98 per cent.

Kenya received the first consignment of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines on Friday, comprising of 141,600 doses.

Speaking at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport after the arrival of the consignment, Health Chief Administrative Secretary Dr Mercy Mwangangi said the arrival of the vaccine doses will boost the ongoing vaccination drive that targets 10 million adults by the end of the year.

Johnson & Johnson vaccine is the third vaccine in Kenya’s inoculation programme with AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines already being administered in the country.

She noted that the single dose administration will ensure highly mobile populations will be fully vaccinated.