• Only one of these cases emanated from the quarantine facilities while four were tracked down by the surveillance teams.
• Kagwe said the five new cases were out of 308 samples tested in the last 24 hours.
Image: DOUGLAS OKIDDY
Kenya has reported five new coronavirus cases bringing the country's total number to 184.
Health CS Mutahi Kagwe during his daily briefing on the coronavirus on Thursday at Afya House said the five new cases were out of 308 samples tested in the last 24 hours.
Out of the five new cases, two are female and three are male.
Three of the cases are from Nairobi while two are from Mombasa county.
The CS announced four more people have been discharged.
However, Kagwe announced one person from Mombasa died. The victim was diagnosed with the virus during postmortem.
Only one of these cases emanated from the quarantine facilities while four were tracked down by the surveillance teams.
The five cases are aged between 30-77 years.
Out of the five three are Kenyans while two are foreign nationals. Three of them had travelled; one each from Tanzania, UK and UAE.
The CS announced the government has closed some quarantine facilities such as trademark hotels.
"We urge Kenyans to receive those who have been released without discrimination," he said.
Kagwe warned those who are still yet to comply with the government directives and cited those in the jua kali sector, boda boda operators and the market traders.
"We will not allow any Kenyan to die because some people fail to adhere to the set guidelines. All business people, barbershop, salon attendants must follow the guidelines to; fumigate, observe social distance wear face masks, wash hands," he said.
"Boda boda operators are not adhering to measures, they are still carrying more than one person. If caught the boda boda will be impounded."
The CS said the government has noted the high level of face masks being sold in the streets and will continue to monitor them for their quality.
Kagwe also acknowledged the gains and collaborative efforts in the journey to combat Covid-19.
"We are glad that people are incrementally noting that the disease is with us. This is not a government forcing people to do things rather one that wants all of us to walk together," he said.
Earlier on Thursday, Deputy President William Ruto said the government is working with the WHO and the Africa CDC for approval of rapid diagnostic kits manufactured locally by Kemri to scale up Kenya's testing capacity.
Ruto appealed to every Kenyan to go the extra mile and perform their patriotic duties to ensure that their friends and families adhere to the measures given by the government.
On Wednesday, the total number of confirmed cases stood at 179 after seven new cases were reported.
Health CAS Mercy Mwangangi said all private testing facilities are required to share their results with the Ministry of Health for monitoring purposes.
The CAS said for mild cases the government will advocate for home-based care.
However, Mwangangi warned that as the government deploys mass testing across the country and several institutions, the Covid-19 cases will rise.
The CAS said the government will hire an additional 5,000 health workers to aid in the fight against the pandemic.
