Coronavirus cases in Kenya rise to 179 as 7 more patients test positive

Seven more patients have tested positive for the coronavirus in Kenya, raising the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country to 179.

Health Chief Administrative Secretary Dr. Mercy Mwangangi, in a press briefing on Wednesday, said the 7 new cases are all Kenyans among them three males and four females.

Out of the seven, two had traveled from the USA, one from Congo and the other from the UK.

In terms of distribution per their counties, five of the cases were tested in Nairobi, one in Mombasa and the other in Uasin Gishu.

“Two of the cases emanated from our mandatory quarantine facilities while five were picked by our surveillance teams,” said Dr. Mwangangi.

The Health Ministry CAS said one of the 179 COVID-19 patients in the country is under critical care while the rest are said to be experiencing mild to moderate disease.

And as a piece of good news, she disclosed that one of the patients — a Kenyan — who was in critical care in at a private hospital has been taken off ventilator support and discharged to the general ward. She added that two additional cases had been discharged over the last 24 hours.

Dr. Mwangangi said a total of 2,004 persons have been monitored, out of which 1,426 have been discharged with 538 currently on follow up.

She further disclosed that of all the 179 cases, three of them are aged below 15 years, 49 are between 15 — 29 years while 114 of the patients are aged between 30 — 59 years. Those patients above 60 years of age are 13.