Four Bishop Gatimu Ngandu Girls students test positive for COVID-19

Four students from Bishop Gatimu Ngandu Girls have tested positive for Covid-19 and 23 others placed in quarantine, Nyeri County commissioner Lyford Kibaara has said.

According to him, the two students had been allowed to go home earlier this week after they complained of feeling ill and when they sought medical attention, they were found to have contracted the virus.

“Later on, four other students started showing signs of flu and two others were found to be positive. They have been admitted to the Othaya Annex Hospital,” he said.

The Commissioner however assured parents that the students are not in any danger and medical professionals are currently at the school to assess the situation.

Meanwhile, 400 health workers in Nyeri County have since received the COVID-19 vaccine as the government rolls out the exercise across the country.

On Wednesday, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe announced that Kenya’s coronavirus caseload is now at 110,356.

The new infections point at a 14% positivity rate, with both the Health Ministry and County of Governors urging Kenyans to be extra careful as the country navigates through the third wave.

So far, 4,000 Kenyans have been inoculated against the disease a week after Kenya got 1.02 million doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine.

Health CAS Dr. Mercy Mwangangi said that so far, no adverse effects from the vaccine had been recorded.

Among those who will benefit from the first phase of the vaccines are essential workers who include frontline workers, teachers and police officers.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has since cautioned Kenyans to stop peddling falsehoods on the Covid-19 vaccination exercise maintaining that it is only frontline health workers and service providers who will be first in line to receive the vaccine.

The Head of State had visited the central COVID-19 vaccines storage facility with Health CS Mutahi Kagwe, UNICEF Representative in Kenya Maniza Zaman and other officials.

The vaccines were procured and delivered by UNICEF as part of the COVAX initiative. They will be transported from the central warehouse to regional depots across the country.

The initial distribution of the first 495,000 doses gives the Nairobi regional store the highest quantity of 138,000 doses, Kisumu (54,000), Nakuru (54,000), Mombasa (42,000), Kakamega (42,000), Garissa and Meru 21,000 and Nyeri (18,000).

Level 6 hospitals will receive 33,000 doses and military level 4 hospitals 21,000 doses. The quantity of vaccines for each county is determined by the number of frontline workers.

The next batch of vaccines is expected in the country either by the end of March or early April.