UPDATE - Kenya in 3rd wave of COVID-19, says health minister

UPDATES WITH HEALTH MINISTRY STATEMENT

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - Kenya on Wednesday recorded the highest number of COVID-19 infections since last year, the country's health minister said.

Kenya is officially in its third wave of the outbreak, with 713 more people contracting the virus over the last 24 hours, out of a sample size of 5,230 people tested for the disease, Mutahi Kagwe noted, adding that the new numbers are alarming.

“The sheer number itself tells you the whole story, the positivity rate that we are announcing at around 14% is also the highest since the last phase in November,” he said.

The health minister also announced that together with the council of governors and other officials they will debate on Wednesday and Thursday whether to increase or reduce measures to fight the virus.

They will announce the new measures with Kenyan leader Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday, addressing the East African nation, he added.

The Health Ministry also reported a rise in COVID-19 patients on ventilators in hospitals.

“We are about to start another difficult period, but we can also overcome this period. It has taken a toll on us over the past year, and it is at this time that we can’t let our guard down,“ Kagwe stressed.

Over these developments, the ministry announced the formation of a National COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Taskforce to handle several tasks, including guidance on the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.

The tasks will also include the "regulation and safety monitoring, Costing, Financing and Resourcing, Planning & coordination, Procurement and logistics,” the Health Ministry tweeted.

“The team is also mandated to undertake Trainings and Capacity Building, Advocacy, Communication & Community,” it added.

Kenya on Wednesday lost 12 patients to COVID-19 bringing the death total to 1,898, with 563 patients admitted to hospitals and 1,588 under home-based care, while the number of patients in intensive care units has neared 90 compared to less than 20 in January.

The country's total number of cases currently stands at 110,356. Over the last day, 167 patients have recovered from the disease, raising the total recoveries to 87,903.