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Covid cases on the decline as positivity rate plateaus for three

Wednesday, January 19th, 2022 00:30 | By
Mombasa County Chief Health Officer Pauline Odinga receives a Covid- 19 booster at Mama Ngina Waterfront on Monday. Photo/PD/BONFACE MSANGI

The country has recorded an average of 7 per cent Covid-19 positivity rate in the last three days, signaling a decline in infections. In the same period, the average number of people testing positive for Covid-19 has oscillated between 300 and 310 per day, against 4,382 samples tested daily.

Experts are pointing to a declining severity of the Omicron variant that has recently caused havoc in the country, which saw hospital admissions jump to a constant of 1,200 patients, with over 20,000 people in Home-Based and Isolation Care programmes across the country.

According to Kenya Healthcare Federation chairman, Dr Kanyenje Gakombe, the disease is declining in severity. “We are beginning to see reductions in hospitalizations and admissions to other non-hospital care programmes such as the Home Based Isolations.

The disease is becoming mild,” he told People Daily. He called on Kenyans to take vaccination against the disease seriously because evidence from hospital admissions has shown that most of the people that suffer the severity of the disease are those that have not been vaccinated.

“We are also seeing the elderly with comorbidities suffering more from the severity of the disease. This is because most of them are not vaccinated. But we keep on encouraging everyone to go for the jab,” he said.

Cumulative tests Yesterday, the Ministry of Health reported that 392 people had tested positive for Covid-19. This is from a sample size of 5,730 tested in the last 24 hours.

This represented a positivity rate of 6.8 percent. “Total confirmed positive cases are now 318, 249 and cumulative tests so far conducted are 3, 157, 009,” Health Cabinet Secretary, Mutahi Kagwe said.

On Monday, the Ministry reported that 223 people had tested positive for the disease, from a sample size of 3, 456 tested in the last 24 hours. This represented a positivity rate of 6.5 percent, while on Sunday it was 7.8 percent when 310 people tested positive from a sample size of 3, 961.

Yesterday the Ministry reported that 856 patients had recovered from the disease, 773 from the Home Based Isolation and Care programme while 83 are from various health facilities countrywide.

“Total recoveries now stand at 286,483 of whom 235,118 are from the Home-Based Care and Isolation program, while 51,365 are from various health facilities countrywide,” the CS noted.

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