The Ministry of Health yesterday attributed rising Covid-19 hospital admissions to an Omicron sub-variant sweeping across the country.

While urging Kenyans to ensure they are vaccinated, Health Chief Administrative Secretary, Dr Rashid Aman, warned that Kenya is currently experiencing a sixth phase of Covid-19 which will see the positivity rate continue to rise.

 “However, while we are not clear yet what the impact of this phase will be because we are dealing with the Omicron sub-type which we know has not been that lethal in sending people to hospitals, recent information coming out from some places like the UK have indicated that there may be some changes occurring in this Omicron sub-type that actually would make things difficult in the end,” he said while presiding over the second edition of the Association of Medical Engineering Association (AMEK) symposium in Nairobi.

The association’s Secretary General, Eng Millicent Alooh petitioned the government to move fast and put in place a regulatory framework to minimise the proliferation of quacks in the sector.

“This will also establish a platform where we are properly recognised as the people who manage medical equipment from the time it is procured to disposal,” she said.

Aman said that data from some countries in Europe shows that the changes happening on this sub-type of the Omicron might give it better chances of infecting the lungs.

“However, this is something we are keeping an eye on. And the reason we are frequently asking Kenyans to get vaccinated and be keen to wear masks in enclosed places and other crowded areas,” he said as the latest report from the Ministry pointed to the rising number of Covid-19 positive cases.

“We will continue with our vaccination programme, and I want to take this opportunity to urge Kenyans that they must come out and vaccinate themselves,” he added.

Yesterday’s Covid numbers rose to 559 since the from 454 in 24 hours and a positivity rate of 15.4 percent from 12.8 percent on Wednesday. Samples tested in yesterday’s report were 3, 639 from 3, and 534 on Wednesday.

There are 89 patients currently admitted in the health facilities, while 3,803 are under the Home-Based Isolation and Care programme.

Two patients are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and are on ventilator support, while 16 are in General Wards and are on supplemental oxygen. No patient is in the High Dependency Unit (HDU).

As of yesterday, a total of 18,668,158 vaccines have been administered across the country. Of these, 16,688,584 are doses administered to the adult population (18 years and above).