•Currently, the ministry if carrying out targeted mass testing with a focus on frontline health care workers.
•In the last 24 hours the ministry confirmed 11 more positive cases in the country, bringing the total now to 281.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
A total of 455 individuals have been put in mandatory 14-day quarantine for failing to adhere to curfew regulations.
Another 483 people are also being held in 33 quarantine centres across the country, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe said on Monday.
Last week, the government closed some quarantine centres after those who were being held in the facilities were cleared to continue with self-quarantine at home.
On Sunday, Health Chief Administrative Secretary Mercy Mwangangi said those found breaching curfew rules would be rounded up and put in mandatory quarantine at their own costs.
The decision is part of the government's move to ensure strict enforcement of the dusk-to-dawn curfew to curb the spread of coronavirus.
“I think this is important to note because once you are out during curfew hours it is assumed that you have now been exposed and, therefore, you will be taken to quarantine centres for 14 days at your own cost,” Mwangangi said.
Several people among them police officers, MCAs and athletes have been arrested after they were found to have locked themselves in bars, drinking.
Meanwhile, the Pharmacy and Poisons Board has approved four test kits to be used for detecting Covid-19 in the country.
The four include COBAS SAR-Covid-2 Test kit by Roche Diagnostics, Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2- by Cepheid, Biofire Covid-19 Test by Biofire Defence LLC and Abbott by Abbot Molecular Inc.
The board has further accelerated regulatory decisions regarding approval of Covid-19 test kits and is implementing stringent expedited accreditation mechanism which has shrunk the process from three months to 48 hours.
Health CS Mutahi Kagwe on Monday said the approach will expand the country's testing capacity from the current 10 labs to cover at least one laboratory in each county in the next two weeks.
Currently, the ministry is conducting targeted mass testing with a focus on frontline healthcare workers, identified hotspots and clusters in Nairobi and Mombasa, heightening surveillance and screening of truck drivers.
“Our success in treatment is highly dependent on our ability to protect our frontline health workers and heroes in this fight. We have distributed 4,759 complete personal protection equipment kits and 237 assorted components such as glasses, surgical masks, N95 masks gowns, rubber boots and shoe covers,” Kagwe said.
The PPEs were also given out to health workers in quarantine sites and port facilities. So far, more than 30,000 health workers have been trained in an ongoing process with a target to sensitise 100,000 more medics.
In the last 24 hours, the ministry confirmed 11 more positive cases in the country, bringing the total to 281.
Seven of the new cases are in Mombasa while four are in Nairobi’s Ruaka Estate.
Out of the 11, five are women while six are men aged between 11 and 80.
Seven were picked from quarantine facilities while four were picked by the surveillance teams across the country.
There were no more fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours meaning the death toll remained at 14. Two more patients were discharged pushing the number of recoveries to 69. One of those discharged on Monday was a doctor who had been infected while attending to patients.
Three of the seven cases confirmed in Mombasa were contacts of a herbalist who has since died from coronavirus, Kagwe said.
“Defeating coronavirus will require agile execution, testing and prompt management of confirmed cases,” the CS said.
He said 1,000 police officers particularly those manning roadblocks have been trained alongside 1,000 National Youth Service officers, 300 prison officers and 53,000 Community Health Volunteers using an online-based module by Red Cross, AMREF and the ministry
Kagwe said adequate supply of oxygen is crucial in the management of Covid-19 and appealed to both the national and county hospitals to settle any debts owed to suppliers.
Those holding oxygen cylinders have also been urged to make plans to return them to suppliers, so that they can be filled up.
“I am aware we also have a number of oxygen plants of our own. Facilities with such plants should make haste and repair what is not functional, but also do a quick cost-benefit analysis to ensure we get value for money,” Kagwe said.
He asked residents of Machakos, Kajiado, Kiambu and Murang’a counties to take responsibility and guard against the spread of coronavirus from Nairobi.
The city county is a hotspot with more than 70 per cent of the country's confirmed cases. The four counties are covered in Nairobi's Metropolitan area for which President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered a containment on April 6.
Data from the ministry shows residents of the city's neighbouring counties were quickly contracting the virus. Many have been put in quarantine.
Machakos has seven cases with two in Syokimau and one each in Athi River, Kamulu, Rubi Garden Estate, Kithunguni and Viraji areas.
In Kiambu, there are cases in Githurai, Githurai 45, Ndongoru, Thindigua, Ting'ang'a, Waithaka and Wataalam while Matasia, Kitengela and Ongata Rongai in Kajiado county have also reported positive cases.
“In Murang’a, we have two cases in Gatanga and Lumumba Drive. All these cases are being treated in our various hospitals and we hope they will be the last of the cases in your counties,” Kagwe said.
Edited by Peter Obuya