NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 27 – Kenya recorded 181 COVID-19 cases on Saturday marking a 3.2 per cent positivity rate compared to 5 per cent reported on Friday and 6 per cent on Thursday.
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said the new cases were identified from 5, 577 samples which were tested from Friday.
Kenya has so far conducted 1, 295, 556 tests since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.
Nairobi County produced the majority of the new infections after posting 104 cases followed by Kiambu which had 20 cases.
CS Kagwe added that 88 patients have been cleared of the virus bringing the total number of recoveries to 86, 609 cases.
One patient has succumbed to the virus raising he country’s fatalities to 1, 854.
The much-awaited COVID-19 vaccine will be administered free of charge in all public health facilities, with arrivals expected from next week.
About 16 million people will be vaccinated by end of the year to suppress the virus with vaccines from Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Johnson and Johnson.
Of the 16 million, more than 1 million health care workers and essential providers will be among the first people to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
In phase two of the vaccination, which is set to kick off in July and end in June 2022, 9.7 million Kenyans will be vaccinated.
On Thursday, the Cabinet ratified a COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan with the first batch of the vaccines expected into the country within the first week of March.
The Cabinet, during its first sitting this year, resolved that the first group to be vaccinated will include health care workers and frontline workers among them security personnel and teachers, vulnerable persons and those in working in the hospitality industry.
Also, as part of the country’s response to the disease, the Cabinet sanctioned heightened surveillance at all of Kenya’s international borders, so as to stem the propagation of the disease into the country.
“The Cabinet noted that the first batch of COVID vaccine will arrive in Kenya the first week of March 2021.In that regard, the Cabinet ratified the distribution framework for the vaccines with first priority given to health care workers, front line workers including those in security and teachers, vulnerable persons and groups and the hospitality sector,” a statement from the Cabinet Office read.
