Kenya Records Highest Covid-19 Positivity Rate At 32.5%

Nairobi — Kenya recorded its highest COVID-19 positivity rate in recent months on Thursday after posting 32.5 per cent.

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said 3,746 cases were detected from a sample size of 11,537 which were tested from Wednesday.

So far, Kenya has recorded 274, 645 cases since Covid-19 was first reported in the country in March 2020.

The surge in COVID-19 cases in the country has largely been driven by the spread of the Omicron variant which has been deemed highly transmissible.

Sixty patients have also recovered from the virus bringing the total number of recoveries in the country to 249, 617.

Total fatalities now stand at 5, 356 after one succumbed to the virus, a late death which was reported after conducting facility record audits in the month of December.

Over 9.3 million Kenyans had been vaccinated against the virus by according to statistics released on Thursday.

The Ministry of Health however recorded the highest number of vaccines administered on a single day at 205,948 giving the vaccination campaign fresh impetus.

"We continue to call on all Adults aged 18 years and above and teenagers aged 15 - 17 years to come out and get vaccinated even as we continue to adhere to the regular Public Health and Social Measures including proper use of face masks, social distancing, hand washing or use of hand sanitizers at all times," Kagwe said.

The Ministry of Health since invoked the Public Health Act making it mandatory for Kenyans to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination to use public transport or enter government offices.

Campaigners including Human Rights Watch have criticized the directive as discriminatory and urged the government to abandon the plan, which also requires visitors from Europe to provide proof of full vaccination.

Early data suggest Omicron could be more contagious than previous strains and may have higher resistance to vaccines.

Since it was first reported in South Africa in November, the heavily mutated Omicron variant has been identified in dozens of countries, prompting many to re-impose travel restrictions and other measures.