Coronavirus: 17 more die in Kenya’s deadly second wave

31 Octobre 2020

Nairobi, Kenya, October 30 (Infosplusgabon)  -  At least 17 people died overnight in Kenya as a result of the rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic, which has now claimed the lives of 981 people in the East African nation.

Kenya has declared it is facing a high impact second wave of the pandemic.

Kenya’s health Ministry Cabinet Secretary, Mutahi Kagwe, said some 1,185 people tested positive for the virus on Friday, out of a total of  9,851 people tested across the country, which now brings the total number of positive cases to 53,797.

“We can clearly see that our infections are rising at an alarming rate. Our health facilities are also likely to be overwhelmed if we do not act now and act fast,” Kagwe said in a statement.

While emphasising the fact that wearing of face-masks offers active protection from the virus of up to 70%, according to local medical experts, Kagwe said the country was staring at a gloomy future with rising rates of infections and hospital facilities getting overwhelmingly crowded.

At least 687,452 people have been tested for the virus in Kenya since the first outbreak was detected in March 2020. The youngest amongst those who tested positive on Friday included an 11-month old baby while the oldest was a 93-year old.

“I warned that we are staring at a second wave of this disease right in the face. I cautioned that the sooner we change our behaviour, the better since we risked rolling back all the gains we have so far made in the fight against this disease,” Kagwe said.

Kenya relaxed a few measures aimed at curbing the spread of the disease after recording weeks of low infections rates. While some interpreted the low rates recorded during the previous months, authorities were quick to warn that the low rates were a result of the low number of people tested on a daily basis.

On Friday, the Health Cabinet Secretary warned that the disease was spreading rapidly in the counties, which have faced numerous challenges, including the shutting down of offices, including regional parliaments.

“It is disheartening to note that the counties that had very low infections rates and had seemed to be on their way to stamping out the virus have suddenly made a turn for the worst,” Kagwe said.

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