Three years ago today, Kenya announced its first Covid-19 case since the beginning of the outbreak in China in December 2019.
In a statement, then-Health CS Mutahi Kagwe said the patient was a Kenyan citizen who had travelled back to Nairobi from the US via London on March 5, 2020.
"The patient is clinically stable, and is being managed at the Infectious Diseases Unit at the Kenyatta National Hospital," Kagwe said.
"The lady is now stable and behaving quite normally. There is no need for alarm," he added.
What followed soon after was a myriad of reactions from Kenyans ranging from panic buying of food and antiseptic products and haphazard travel upcountry as the government embarked on instituting measures to avert further transmission of the disease.
"I wish to assure all Kenyans that we have been beefing up our preparedness capacities since the first confirmed cases in China. The Government will use all the available resources to respond to this case," Kagwe said.
He asked Kenyans not to panic as the government started contact tracing for all persons who came into contact with the patient
"We have sent a rapid response team to the Ongata Rongai area where she lives for that purpose," Kagwe said.
For the next 30 days, the government directed all Kenyans to observe thorough handwashing, suspend all inter-school events, public gatherings, social distancing and provision of hand sanitisers in public vehicles and churches.
Three years down the line and after several lockdowns and Covid variants over that period, Kenya has to date recorded 5,680 deaths from the pandemic.
The ministry's last situational update issued on November 13, 2022, shows that confirmed cases stood at 340,431.
The number of those fully vaccinated stood at 9,900,890 against 22,627,957 total vaccines administered whereas booster doses accounted for 1,632,430.
Cumulative tests conducted since March 13, 2020, was 3,930,005 while the positivity rate was 8 per cent.
