Kenya on Thursday recorded 538 new cases of Covid-19, raising the country's total to 24,411, Health CAS Rashid Aman has confirmed.
The new positives were drawn from the 6,195 people whose samples were tested within 24 hours.
This brings the country's cumulative total tests to 335,318.
From the new cases, 516 were Kenyans while 22 were foreigners.
Speaking during the daily Covid-19 briefing, Aman said in terms of gender, 333 were male and 205 were female. Age wise, the youngest was a two year old while the oldest was 85 years old.
On a positive note, 514 patients have recovered from the disease, bringing the total number of recoveries in the country so far to 10,444.
A total of 431 were from home-based care.
However, eight more patients succumbed to the virus, raising fatalities in the country to 399.
Six of the deceased had underlying medical conditions.
The cases were distributed in Nairobi 277, Kiambu 72, Kajiado 55, Nakuru 25, Nyeri 20, Muranga 15, Machakos 9, Busia 8, Mombasa 7, Migori 7 Mandera 6, Bomet 6, Meru 3, Narok 3, Kisii 3, Trans Nzoia 3, Tharaka Nithi, Uasin Gishu and Makueni has 2 cases each while Wajir, Samburu, Kwale, Kisumu,Kericho and Baringo had one case each.
Marking World Breastfeeding Week, Aman said most newborns do not develop severe or critical illness if infected with coronavirus.
He said most infants if infected are asymptomatic or show mild disease and recover rapidly.
He said breast milk is the best source of immunity for infants and it is essentially important for infected babies.
"Transmission of this virus via breast milk is highly unlikely. Research has shown that the benefits of breast milk substantially outweigh the potential risks for Covid-19 transmission," he said.
