Kenya has recorded 241 more Covid-19 positive cases in the last 24 hours as the country’s total caseload rises to 33,630.
During the daily Covid-19 briefing at Afya House on Friday, August 28, Health CAS Rashid Aman announced that 4,520 samples had been tested over the period bringing the total number of samples tested so far to 442,713.
Of the positive cases,152 are male and 89 cases are female while the youngest case is a 1-year old and the oldest is aged 86.
No deaths were reported in the past 24 hours which maintained the number of fatalities at 567.
At the same time, 66 patients were discharged, 40 from the home-based care program, and 26 from various hospitals bringing the total number of recoveries to 19,434.
In the county distribution, Nairobi leads with 113, Mombasa 14, while both Taita Taveta and Kiambu reported 10 cases each. Kirinyaga and Narok had nine cases each, while Kajiado had 8, Laikipia and Nakuru 7 cases each.
Uasin Gishu and Turkana counties reported six cases, Busia and Lamu 5, Trans Nzoia, Kilifi, Kericho, and Kakamega (4), Kisumu (3). The counties of Nyeri, Bomet, Machakos, Makueni each had two cases.
Kitui, Bungoma, Nyandarua, and Nandi counties all reported one case each.
CAS Aman addressed the issue of malnutrition in the country where he stated that 25% of children under 5 suffered stunting while 11% were underweight.
“45% of deaths in this age group suffer undernutrition. 28% of adults aged between 18 and 69 years are either overweight or obese. Lack of a balanced diet is still very common,” he observed.
He conveyed that the pandemic posed a severe risk to the nutritional status and survival of vulnerable population groups such as young children, pregnant and lactating women, persons with underlying medical conditions, people living with disabilities, and the elderly.
“Good nutrition is important for growth and development throughout one’s life course. It boosts immunity, improves response to treatment, speeds up recovery, reduces the risk of getting other infections, and prevents disability and death,” the health CAS stated.