• Official says the received Kobus 8800 machine can do two to three-hour tests in about one hour.
• So far, 191 people have been infected with Covid-19 countrywide with 491 samples tested in the last 24 hours.
At least 7,000 people will be tested for coronavirus after the Ministry of Health announced receiving testing kits from Roche Diagnostics.
This comes as the state prepares to conduct a mass testing in the next two to three weeks.
Director of Public Health Patrick Amoth on Saturday said the machines have been placed at various facilities.
“The beauty of what you're going to deploy is that now you're able to do more tests in a shorter time,” he said.
The mass testing will start in the quarantine centres and for healthcare workers and thereafter across the different institutions.
So far, 191 people have been infected with Covid-19 countrywide. Some 491 samples have been tested in the last 24 hours.
Amoth explained that the Kobus 8800 machine can do two to three-hour tests in about one hour.
The ministry, however, said the mass testing will only face a setback considering the availability of testing kits, based on the global supply chain challenges.
The director assured that the ministry was putting efforts to procure more kits to utilise the machines to reach a bigger population.
“By testing, we shall be able to tell for sure where we are in terms of winning the battle,” he said.
The ministry acknowledged that so far, everything is according to its projection and has urged Kenyans to maintain personal hygiene, practice social distancing and stay at home if possible.
Last week, Health CAS Mercy Mwangangi announced that the ministry will roll out mass testing.
This was after reports that 17 Members of the National Assembly and Senate had tested positive for the virus.
Mwangangi said the private laboratories that tested the MPs had not relayed the information to the ministry.
She said by law all private facilities must now share their Covid-19 test results with the ministry.
Mwangangi also said as much the Public Health Act is invoked, the ministry is taking seriously matters of confidentiality and ensuring that those principles that are governed in medicine are still adhered to.
Edited by R.Wamochie