Covid-19: Machakos records first case as tally rises to 621

Kenya’s total number of confirmed cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus disease rose to 621 on Friday, with the announcement of 14 more positive test results.

Health Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Rashid Aman said all the new patients were Kenyans and that 10 were from Nairobi.

He said Mombasa accounted for three of the cases and that Machakos County had recorded its first case of the disease.

The new cases were recorded following the testing of 922 samples in the last 24 hours.

Dr Aman also announced that five more patients had been discharged after testing negative, raising Kenya’s total number of recoveries to 202.

The ministry also announced that 237 Kenyans returned from India on Thursday and that they were booked into hotels at the government’s expense.

CAS Aman said more arrivals from other countries, including China, would follow.

Kenyans who sought repatriation from China will not receive waivers for tickets for their flight back home

The long-awaited ‘repatriation’ flight (KQ 205) from India departed from Mumbai at 6.30pm local time.

The passengers are expected to undergo the mandatory 14-day quarantine before they are allowed to go home.

Regarding testing, Dr Patrick Amoth, the acting Director-General in the Health ministry said that about 21,000 of the 29,000 tests carried out so far were primary.

The rest are subsequent tests meant to confirm the status of the persons they were collected from.