Turn away from these Covid-19 super spreader events — Kagwe
Funerals, political rallies and public gatherings are the main super spreaders of Covid-19 virus strains, Kenya’s Ministry of Health has said.
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has urged the public to be more vigilant as data shows the virulent delta variant keeps infecting an increasing number of people in Kenya.
“You attend a funeral today while in good health, and a few days later, we attend yours. We are witnessing a deadly cycle as a result. We cannot show solidarity by following the deceased,” Mr Kagwe said.
Speaking on Thursday when he hosted his Tanzanian counterpart Dr Dorothy Gwajima for bilateral talks in Nairobi, Mr Kagwe warned political leaders against calling and holding public gatherings.
“The responsibility of political gatherings lies with the politicians and those who attended,” the CS said.
Further he urged teachers and workers in schools across the country to get their Covid-19 jabs at the available centers, to lessen the infection rate in schools, even as the delta variant ravages.
“There is no shortage of vaccination for teachers and other school workers. Right now, the dominant variant is delta. It is transmitting faster that other variants we’ve had and its severity is also more.”
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Working as a team, Kenya and Tanzania have agreed to find solutions to fight off the disease at their borders.
“The areas we have tackled include cross border issues that involve citizens of both countries such as transport, Covid- 19 testing and validation systems for those leaving and entering both countries among other issues.
Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 cases in the country is on the rise. In the last 24 hours, 1,571 people tested positive from a sample size of 9,065 posting a positivity rate of 17.3 per cent.
The Ministry of Health said the total confirmed positive cases are now 208,262 with cumulative tests so far conducted being 2,166,046.
On a sad note, 32 more patients have succumbed to the virus, three of them in the last 24 hours while 29 are late deaths reported after conducting facility record audits on diverse dates in June, July and August, 2021. This now pushes the cumulative fatalities to 4,057.
However, 4,497 patients have recovered from the virus pushing the total recoveries to 195,685.
A total of 1,618 patients are currently admitted in various health facilities countrywide, while 4,187 are under the home-based isolation and care program.
