Kenya’s Health ministry has announced eight more positive cases of the coronavirus, raising the total number from 208 to 216 within 24 hours.
Dr Mercy Mwangangi, Health Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS), on Tuesday said five of the new patients were Kenyans and three foreign nationals.
Dr Mwangagi said the patients had histories of travel to countries including Zambia, the United Kingdom and Comoros.
Six of the new cases were reported in Nairobi, one in Siaya and another in Nakuru after the analysis of 649 samples.
She said one more person recovered and was discharged from hospital, raising the total number of recoveries to 41.
While noting an increase in local transmission, CAS Mwangangi said mass testing will be a priority and will see about 12,000 testing kits distributed across the country.
She said 1,000 of them will be sent to the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) in Mombasa County due to the identified risk of transmission.
The same will apply to Mandera County in north-eastern and Siaya County in western Kenya.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Foreign Affairs ministry said five Kenyans died of the coronavirus in the US in the last month while hundreds of others are stuck in various countries that have imposed lockdowns.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Macharia Kamau said on Tuesday that the five victims had underlying medical conditions that worsened their conditions, leading to their deaths.
Mr Kamau said an estimated 160 Kenyans who had travelled to India with their relatives to seek treatment are currently stuck in that country.
On China, PS Kamau said close to 3,000 Kenyans are there but that no deaths had been reported.
The PS further said that there are two suspected deaths of Kenyans in Sweden. He also reported a recovery in Rwanda and another in Qatar.
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