Kenya has yet again reported a record number of new single-day COVID-19 infections as it continues its reopening after months of lockdown.
Health Cabinet Secretary, Mutahi Kagwe, announced on Friday that the East African country had reported 473 new cases, taking its total tally to 9,448.
Kenya is the tenth African country to report more than 9,000 COVID-19 infections, even as the continent continues to see a surge in daily new cases.
The country also reported eight new COVID-19 deaths, taking its total to 181. Among the latest fatalities was a health worker, the first reported since the outbreak of the disease in the country.
Kawe in his address said acknowledged that the country had seen a steady spike in infections over the recent past, with only 5 of the 47 counties yet to report a case.
“In the last few weeks, we have noticed that our cases are steadily growing. The number of counties that have so have recorded COVID-19 cases stands at 42” Kagwe said.
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday announced the reopening of the country’s locked down regions and a planned reopening of the country’s international airports from 1 August.
In his address, Kagwe urged Kenyans to remain vigilant so as not to spread the disease further.
“With the opening of the country we must acknowledge that… the number of infections are likely to increase,” he warned.
The latest update by Kenya comes as the World health organization urged countries around the world to use the lessons drawn from the COVID-19 pandemic to better prepare for future health crises that may arise.
“Even as we fight this pandemic, we must be readying ourselves for future global outbreaks and the many other challenges of our time such as antimicrobial resistance, inequality and the climate crisis,” said the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom. “COVID-19 has taken so much from us. But it is also giving us an opportunity to break with the past and build back better.”
