NAIROBI, Kenya May 21 – Public health officials in Kenya are projecting the peak for COVID-19 in August or September.
Dr Patrick Amoth, a Director General of Health at the Ministry of Health, said the country will likely record up to 200 cases a day.
He made the announcement at a regular press conference where Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe announced 80 new infections, raising the total to 1,109.
With increased testing capacity, D Amoth said this cases will increase in the coming months.
“We project now that our peak will be in August and September but remember modeling keeps on changing based on the variables that have been put and our wish is to continue with the measures that we have put in place that has enabled us to have a smoother curve that our health systems have not been over-ran,” he said, “If we continue to implement these measures, we believe that even if we reach that peak we will be able to cope.”
He however, urged Kenyans not to be apprehensive pointing out that the economy could gradually be opened if they implement the hygiene measures to the latter and exuded confidence that the rising cases will be managed.
“Three most important interventions are hand washing with soaps and hand sanitizer, physical distancing and avoiding gatherings. If we can implement these three, we can gradually open our economy. The increasing numbers are due to increased capacity thus the more we test the more we are likely to peak,” he said.
The government had in March projected that the country could have at least 10,000 coronavirus by April.
“Nature sometimes does not work with science but we believe that if it works along that way, then the action that we take will be able to assure we will be in control,” he added.
He Amoth cited Kenya’s weak health system and the high burden of communicable diseases as among obstacles that could impede the fight to contain the spread of coronavirus.
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