Two more die of coronavirus in Kenya as cases pass 100

Two more Kenyans have died of Covid-19 as the number of patients passed the 100 mark Thursday, prompting the government to impose tougher controls on public transporters.

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said 29 more people had tested positive for the coronavirus, 28 of them Kenyans, bringing the national tally of confirmed infections to 110 patients.

The other was a Congolese national.

Mr Kagwe warned that the numbers will rise in coming days exponentially as the ministry of Health scales up mass testing of all people who have come into contact with the confirmed cases.

All boda boda operators and matatu crew have been directed to start providing face masks for all their passengers in a bid to curb transmission of the virus.

“I do not wish to scare you but with the figures that have said, this is not getting any better. The number is going to rise exponentially,” Mr Kagwe said. “The government is announcing stiffer measures to deal with the diseases. It is better to train yourself to stay at home rather than get a shock when push comes to shove.”

The Health officials tested 662 people between Wednesday and yesterday after more testing kits became available, with plans to roll out countrywide testing.

The two new deaths, one in Nairobi and the other in Mombasa, bring the total of fatalities to three. Two people have been confirmed to have healed though, with the government keen to stress to Kenyans that it is possible for infected persons to become free of the virus.

The jump in cases now sees Kenya lead in East Africa in the number of infections followed by Rwanda that has so far confirmed 82 cases.

The government has started hiring health workers.

“We have directed that hiring of 5,000 skilled health workers across the country begin immediately with the aim of completing by Wednesday next week. All hospitals will also hire an additional 1,000 within a week, bringing the total number to 7, 000,” Mr Kagwe said.

The country yesterday started local production of face masks and preventive gear for health workers to add to the 250 ventilators received from the World Bank and 20,000 testing kits from Chinese billionaire and co-founder of e-commerce multinational Alibaba Jack Ma.