NAIROBI, Kenya, April 23 – Mombasa Thursday registered the highest single-day increase in coronavirus infections at twelve out of seventeen cases reported in 24 hours, raising the number of infections registered in the country to 320.
The Ministry of Health said a total of 668 samples had been tested out of which 478 were taken from Nairobi.
The newly reported infections pointed to an unexpectedly high number of infections in the coastal city of Mombasa where fewer samples were taken compared to Nairobi.
Health Chief Administrative Secretary Mercy Mwangangi however said during a routine news conference six patients had recovered from the virus bringing the total number of those who have recovered from the virus to eighty-nine.
Mwangangi said the 17 patients are all Kenyans, 9 of them being male and 8 female.
Fifteen of the new patients were picked by the health ministry’s surveillance teams, the other two arising from quarantine facilities.
“It is important to emphasize that the fact that many people were picked by surveillance teams, it means the patients are living within our communities and that measures we keep reiterating need to be followed to avoid further spread,” Dr Mwangangi said.
She further warned Kenyans against overreliance on hand sanitizers urging Kenyans to use soap and water often for maximum hand hygiene.
“While sanitizers are effective, soap and running water is the best, people must start prioritize washing hands and only use sanitizer when sanitisers is useful,” the CAS noted.
