Kenya has confirmed 10 more Covid-19 cases bringing the total number of infections to 384.
The number of fatalities now stands at 15 after one more patient succumbed to the virus.
The new cases all local transmissions are from 580 samples collected from 14 counties in the past 24 hours.
According to Chief Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Health Dr Mercy Mwangangi, the 10 cases aged between 12 and 63 years, six males and four females are from Mombasa and Nairobi.
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The two counties account for 90 per cent of all the Covid-19 cases with the government scaling up containment measures to curtail the spread of infections.
Nairobi the capital city as of April 29, recorded 242 cases while Mombasa has 106 cases.
Mombasa has nine cases from Old Town, Miritini, Bamburi, Ganjoni and Tudor estates while one case is from Nairobi’s sprawling Kawangware area.
Dr Mwangangi said the Ministry of Health has partnered with the county governments to intensify community surveillance in the two counties mapped out as hotspots.
” Regarding our Covid-19 situation, we continue to see a trend where more new positive cases are recorded in the two counties of Nairobi and Mombasa. While this may be indicative of the disease being domiciled in these two counties, it is also a pointer to the immense work that we have to do in these two counties”, she said Wednesday during the daily press briefing at Afya house.
On a positive note, the number of recoveries has been going up with five more people being discharged bringing the total number to 129.
The CAS expressed concern over emerging cases of stigmatization of people with the disease, in particular those who have recovered and discharged from hospital.
She condemned the social stigma and discriminatory behaviour against the patients saying if not checked will impact negatively the fight against the pandemic.
“We are disturbed by reports that reintegration has not been easy for some of those who have recovered. Please don’t stigmatise our recoveries. This will lead to few Kenyans getting tested. I, therefore, appeal for compassion and celebration of those who have recovered”, she urged.
Markets and restaurants
With the latest patient from Kawangware, the area known for its open-air market is now under surveillance.
The CAS says spotlight has been directed to markets that have been identified as areas of transmission.
She revealed that besides embarking on fumigation and frequent spot checks, more surveillance teams would be deployed to different city markets to ensure traders observe safety guidelines as they do business.
She said: “We will deploy surveillance team to different zones to interact with the public, ensure guidelines are adhered to, show people correct ways of putting on masks and also come up with innovative ways to ensure mama mboga can continue with business while maintaining social distancing”.
Operators of restaurants and eateries wishing to apply for fresh permits to operate their businesses can now go-ahead to apply after the government uploaded the necessary forms on the Ministry’s website: www.health.go.ke.
Dr. Mwangangi said the process will be strictly followed to ensure proprietors understand government protocol for managing their restaurants and eateries during the coronavirus period.
“We encourage those interested in re-opening their facilities to dedicate some time and keenly go through the protocols in order to be familiar with all the requirements before opening”.
Below is the distribution of cases by County of detection and isolation.
Distribution of cases by County of detection and isolation
County
??Homabay 1
??Kajiado 3
??Kakamega 1
??Kiambu 5
??Kilifi 9
??Kitui 2
??Mandera 8
??Mombasa 106
??Nairobi 242
??Nakuru 2
??Siaya 2
??Uasin Gishu 1
??Kwale 2Total
??384#KomeshaCorona update pic.twitter.com/v7CeiuC1QO
— Ministry of Health (@MOH_Kenya) April 29, 2020
More to follow…………….