NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 23 – The Ministry of Health on Tuesday said it will liaise with national administration officials to relay COVID deaths in real time so as to address verification delays.
This is after it emerged that the ministry was releasing numbers for COVID deaths delayed for even weeks.
Acting Public Health Director General Patrick Amoth explained the delays were partly because community deaths were reported to the Interior Ministry through national administration officials who are outside the ministry’s purview.
“We are working closely with the Ministry of Interior so as to ensure that information filters to the health care facilities so that then it’s reported at the national centre,” said Amoth.
He said the ministry was also working with the counties to develop a platform for real time reporting of COVID deaths within 24 hours.
Amoth however noted that all COVID-related deaths are accounted for as guided by the World Health Organization.
“Reporting of deaths is not real time because different facilities report COVID deaths at different times but no death is left unverified and that why we are reporting even deaths of past days,” he said.
From the 25 deaths the Ministry reported on Tuesday, 22 were late death reports with only 3 covering a 24-hour period.
The Ministry reported 20.9 per cent COVID positivity rate after 1,127 patients tested positive for the disease from 5,393 samples tested.
Health Chief Administrative Secretary Rashid Aman said the third wave being experienced is stronger than the first and second, citing more hospitalization and deaths.
Aman urged Kenyans to remain vigilant by observing all the issued guidelines and more importantly avoid gatherings.
“1,090 patients are currently admitted in various health facilities countrywide while 3,224 patients are on home-based isolation and care, as of today 135 patients are in ICUs, 34 of whom are on ventilatory support and 93 on supplemental oxygen,” said Aman.
Another 210 patients recovered from the disease including 110 are from the home-based and isolation care while 100 were from various health facilities, raising total recoveries to 90,586.
The Chair National Taskforce on COVID vaccine deployment Dr Willis Akhwale reported that so far 45,000 frontline workers had received the COVID jab.
Dr Akhwale said they are projecting that more people will come out and get the jab, dispelling fears that the vaccine could expire due to hesitancy.
““No vaccine will expire if it can save the life of any Kenyan,” he said.
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