NAIROBI, Kenya July 16 – Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe says the surge in COVID-19 infections which rose to 11,673 on Thursday should not surprise Kenyans because it was expected.
Kagwe said the government had projected for an increase in positive cases in the country once the travel restrictions were listed on July 6.
“It should not shock Kenyans because we expected these numbers,” Kagwe said Thursday when he announced 421 new cases detected from 3,895 samples since Wednesday.
He made the announcement during a tour of Nakuru County where he went to assess the county government’s level of preparedness to tackle the pandemic.
Kagwe said 570 more patients were cleared after recovering from coronavirus, and praised healthcare workers for their dedication.
512 were receiving home-based care while 58 were admitted to various hospitals.
Eight fatalities were also recorded Thursday, raising the death toll so far since March to 217.
Kagwe said more than 3,000 community healthcare volunteers have been engaged by the government to help manage COVID-19 cases.
He said 31,780 volunteers had been listed as part of measures to ensure 100 per cent Universal Health Coverage.
Kagwe said that the healthcare volunteers are undergoing training before deployment to various counties to manage home-based patients of COVID-19.
“This will ensure full coverage of community health services in the country which will support the home-based isolation and care for the COVID-19 patients and achievement of the Universal Health Care. The Ministry has developed the community health policy which will lead to better leadership and governance of community health services both at the National and County level,” Kagwe said.
The number of patients who have recovered from coronavirus rose to 3,638 Thursday after 570 more patients were cleared.
Kagwe said 512 were receiving home-based care while 58 were admitted to various hospitals.
The CS was speaking after touring health facilities in Nakuru County where he launched the government’s Primary Health Care Strategic Plan for the financial year 2021-2024.
“Recruitment and training issues have been addressed in the policy. Even in the midst of our response coronavirus pandemic, the government continues to focus on providing continuous, equitable accessible and quality essential healthcare services which can only be attained through a robust primary healthcare system,” said Kagwe.
Kagwe has been visiting various counties distributing the medical kits to public hospitals and assessing their level of preparedness to handle the surging coronavirus cases in the country.
About The Author
