Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe who is also chairing the National Emergency Response Committee briefing the media on coronavirus update and confirmed that eight more patient has been tested positive.
Nairobi Sunday March 22, 2020 – The Ministry of Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe today confirmed eight new cases of those who have tested positive for Coronavirus in the country, bringing the number of those who have tested positive to 15.
Five of the eight cases are Kenyans and three are foreign nationals between ages 20-65 years, all imported from Europe and America.
Making the announcement the CS said all the eight cases came through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport between March 4th and March 17th, 2020 and have all been isolated at various facilities where they are being monitored by the Ministry teams.
He said the government is tracing 363 persons who had come into contact with the patients. So far three people are awaiting processing at Mbagathi hospital while the rest have been processed and discharged, he noted.
“All the patients, except one who is at the Coast are in stable condition,” he said and added that the government is organizing to have the patient airlifted to Nairobi for further treatment.
The CS also put on notice those who have been ignoring the measures that the government has put in place by operating businesses as usual.
“Kenyans MUST treat this matter with the seriousness it deserves, by adjusting and changing their lifestyles. If we continue to behave normally, this disease will treat us abnormally,” he argued.
He noted that all international flights will be suspended effective Wednesday March 25th, 2020 at midnight with the exception of cargo flights whose crew must observe strict guidelines.
Those coming into the country between now and Wednesday the CS said will have to undergo mandatory quarantine at a government designated facility at their own expense.
He also announced that effective midnight today, all BARS will remain closed until further notice, while restaurants will remain open but only for purposes of facilitating take away services. “This is meant to secure the social distance requirement due to increased risk of transmission in those facilities,’
Kagwe called on the public transport sector to adhere to the directive issued on Friday March 20th, 2020 failure to which the respective Sacco licenses will be revoked.
The coronavirus has continued to affect the World in an unprecedented way. Global statistics indicate that as of March 21st, 2020, there were 266,073 confirmed cases and 11,084 deaths. The epicenter of the virus has since shifted from China to Europe. In Africa confirmed cases as of March 21st, 2020 were 572 with 12 reported deaths.