Kenya records 19 deaths as Covid-19 devastates India
Kenya has recorded 469 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours from a sample size of 4,194, posting a positivity rate of 11.2 per cent. Total positive cases now stand at 156,318.
Nineteen people have succumbed to the virus in Kenya, pushing the cumulative fatalities to 2,622, said a statement from the Ministry of Health released on Sunday, April 25.
At the same time, 304 patients have recovered from the virus, 187 are from home based and isolation care while 117 are from various health facilities countrywide. The total recoveries now stand at 106,588.
According to the ministry, 1,443 patients are currently admitted in various health facilities countrywide.
Meanwhile, the government has revised the duration between the administration of the first and the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine from eight weeks to 12 weeks.
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The shift was after an advisory from the World Health Organization (WHO) on the effectiveness of spreading out the vaccination of the two doses, and also delays in shipment of the vaccine from virus hit India.
“Guidance from WHO and the current evidence shows that taking the second dose at twelve weeks provides a higher immune response and better protection. With this evidence and considering the ongoing global supply constraints, this shift is justified, “she said.
India is witnessing a dreadful outbreak of the coronavirus, registering nearly 350,000 new infections and over 2,000 deaths per day, up from fewer than 100 deaths per day in February.
A sluggish vaccination campaign in the country of about 1.3 billion populations, and an insidious new virus variant discovered in India may be behind the latest surge, which has kept crematories burning nonstop even as patients overrun hospitals that are currently shot of oxygen.
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International efforts are underway to help the nation, with the UK beginning to send ventilators and oxygen concentrator devices.
The US is also reportedly lifting a ban on sending raw materials abroad, to enable India make more of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
In the last 24 hours, India recorded a total of 2,767 deaths, bringing total fatalities to 1.9 million. About 349,691 positive cases were also recorded, bringing the total confirmed cases to 16.9 million. Currently the country’s active cases stand at 2,682,751.
