Covid-19 positivity drops to 8.3 per cent after 369 people test positive
Kenya’s Covid-19 positivity rate has eased to 8.3 per cent in the last 24-hour period where 369 people tested positive from a sample size of 4,469.
This now brings the total number of confirmed positive cases to 160,422 with 1,679,779 samples tested since the pandemic broke out in Kenya.
The youngest patient is a nine-month-old infant, and the oldest is ninety years old. Persons aged between 30 and 39 years topped the list of the most infected at 109.
Nairobi County recorded the highest number of cases at 153, followed by Uasin Gishu 52, Meru 28, Kilifi 19, and Kiambu 14.
The counties of Narok, Nyamira, Nyandarua, Tana River, Lamu, Isiolo, Kericho, Kisii, and Makueni recorded the lowest numbers with one case each.
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Unfortunately, 19 patients have succumbed to the virus, 16 occurring on different dates in the previous month and three being late deaths recorded after facility record audits. This now brings the total number of fatalities to 2,763.
The elderly persons, 60 years and above, constitute the highest fatalities to date at 1,395.
At the same time, the number of recoveries has risen to 108,861, after 72 patients received a clean bill of health in the last 24 hours.
According to the Ministry of Health, there are 1,298 patients in different health facilities across the country, with 6,652 patients on home based isolation and care and another 190 patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
According to the Health Ministry, Kenya has so far vaccinated over 886,000 persons against the Covid-19 virus.
Of these 516,140 are aged 58 years and above, health workers 158,103, teachers 137,581 while 74,464 security officers have received the jab.
Meanwhile, there is hope in India’s indigenous vaccine, which was found to neutralize a virulent Covid-19 variant circulating in 21 countries.
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According to a study published on the bioRxiv preprint server, Covaxin, which is manufactured by Bharat Biotech in partnership with the National Institute of Virology and the Indian Council of Medical Research, was effective against the variant, the research shows.
The researchers from the National Institute of Virology found that the serum (blood fluid) obtained from individuals. who had recovered from Covid-19, and Covaxin, were able to neutralize the B.1.617 variant.
“The assurance of neutralization of [the] B.1.617 variant with sera of BBV152 (Covaxin) vaccine and recovered Covid-19 cases sera will provide the much-needed boost to the Covid-19 vaccination program in India,” the researchers say.
With 368,147 new cases over the past 24 hours, India’s total infections now almost hitting the 20 million mark with total fatalities at about 218,000.
