•Another 10 individuals have recovered, bringing the total to 22.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
Hiring of the 5,000 health workers will be done by the counties through the County Service Board, CS Mutahi Kagwe has said.
During his daily briefing on Friday, he also said priority for testing will be given to health workers.
There is still a possibility of the number of Covid-19 cases hitting 10,000 by the end of April as had been projected last month, Health acting director general Patrick Amoth has said.
"We stand with the earlier projections because we have not done community based testing. The results we have are from quarantine centres and a few cases picked by rapid response teams. We don't know what will happen, whether the figures will match or not... taking in consideration the measures we have taken which could work in our favour or not," he said.
Kenya has reported five new coronavirus cases bringing the country's total number to 189, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe has said.
They are all Kenyans and one has a history of travel from the UAE.
Three are from Mombasa, while Nairobi and Nyandarua have one case each.
They are between 27 and 58; three are male, two female.
Another 10 individuals have recovered, bringing the total to 22.
The government has also extended the scope of individuals who should be tested for Covid-19 following the case of a man who was only discovered to have the illness after he died.
Amoth on Friday said severe pneumonia is one of the symptoms which will make one have to undergo testing.
Kagwe during his daily briefing on the coronavirus on Friday at Afya House said the five new cases were out of 504 samples tested.
Friday marks Day 30 of efforts to stop the spread of the virus.
"Indeed, our ways of life have changed dramatically. Good Friday would have been that special day when we congregate with family and friend. But this day is different," Kagwe said.
"The true meaning of Easter is victory over death. Let's rededicate ourselves to the fight of our times."
Kagwe warned Kenyans against handling of cash.
He said many Kenyans were not heeding advice of using mobile money.
Kagwe acknowledged the problem of disposing of face masks.
A guideline will be sent to the counties and Kenyans have been urged to follow it.
More than 100,000 medical workers, 4,000 doctors have received training on managing coronavirus.
Kenya can now undertake 600 tests a day.
Test kits have been delivered to enable automatic testing and Friday will be the first day they are used.
Earlier, President Uhuru Kenyatta said that even as we celebrate Easter, today we are in a storm.
"We have refused to give up and we will see the end of Covid-19 pandemic in Kenya," Uhuru said in a statement on Friday.
He urged Kenyans to come together during these tough times to pray and 'come together by staying apart'.
"We have always found inspiration in ourselves and each other to find the sunshine after the storm. We must come together by staying apart and breaking the chain of infection," he said.
By Thursday, Kenya had 184 reported cases of Covid-19.
1619173 have tested positive