Health ministry changes virus testing strategy

The Ministry of Health yesterday once again cautioned Kenyans against dropping the guard on the coronavirus fight. 

During the daily briefing on the subject, Health Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Dr Rashid Aman said inasmuch as there declining infections in Mombasa and Nairobi counties, a surge is being witnessed in other parts of the country

A significant decline had been noted in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kiambu regions, which have contributed 70 per cent of the national case load.

However, there have been rising cases in Machakos, Kajiado, Kitui, Meru, Busia and Nyeri regions. 

Dr Aman has called on Kenyans to exercise high-level of personal responsibility and self-discipline by strictly observing containment measures to keep the disease at bay.

“Since mid-July, there has been a progressive decline in the number of daily confirmed cases nationally.

This indeed is an encouraging trend that needs to be sustained,” he said. 

Ministry’s testing strategy had evolved where priority is now given to those who meet case definition criterion set by World Health Organisation. 

New testing strategy targets individuals who have been in contact with confirmed symptomatic cases, health care workers who may have come in contact with confirmed cases, remandees, truck drivers and surveillance testing.  

Yesterday, the ministry reported 151 new cases from 2, 552 samples tested in the last 24 hours.

This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 35, 356 while the cumulative tests stand at 479, 697.

At the same time, 173 more patients have been discharged bringing the total number of recoveries to 21, 483. No death was reported, therefore fatalities stand at 599.