18.2 per cent of the households in Kenya reported having at least a member with a pre-existing medical condition a KNBS report has revealed.
The report released on Thursday, also showed out of these households, 35 per cent indicated having a member with high blood pressure or hypertension.
A further 19.1 per cent and 15 per cent reported allergies and diabetes, respectively.
According to the Ministry of Health, people with pre-existing conditions are more likely to get a more severe or fatal case of Covid-19 than healthier people.
Health CS Mutahi Kagwe said in June, NCDs alone contribute to one in every three deaths and account for half of all hospital admissions in the country.
People older than 60 years also are at higher risk of contracting Covid-19.
According to WHO Older persons with pre-existing medical conditions heart disease or diabetes appear to develop serious illnesses more often than others,
The risk of death is 3.6 per cent for the 1.5 million Kenyans aged 60-69, and 1.3 per cent among the 2.4 million between 50-59 years, if they contract the virus.
The Kenya Bureau of Statistics report further established that 88.2 per cent of the population aged 18 years and above indicated that they would be willing to be tested for Covid-19.
In order to cope with coronavirus pandemic, 25.4 percent of the individuals reported that they found solace in family and relatives while 25.3 per cent reported that they were praying or worshipping.
The report also analysed health, knowledge of coronavirus and coping mechanisms.
The KNBS survey is being implemented in six waves on a biweekly basis.
This report provides the findings for the second wave of the survey undertaken between May 30 and June 6, 2020.
