The World Health Organization (WHO) says Kenya has witnessed what it called a dramatic rise in Covid-19 cases over the last month after the East African country reported 4,594 new cases in the past week – up 51% on the previous week.
“It is just shy of its previous peak at the end of July when there were 4,700 new cases – although deaths have increased at a much lower rate (9%),” the WHO says.
Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe warned recently that the country could be headed for a second surge. The data shows that the proportion of people testing positive has started rising – up from below 5% in mid-September to more than 10% over the past week – and this does not appear to be down to any changes in the testing strategy.
The rise does follow the easing of restrictions, among them the reopening of bars, the removal of a ban on the sale of alcohol in restaurants and eateries, and a reduction in overnight curfew hours at the end of September.
Also, teaching in some school classes resumed in mid–October.
Over the past week, Kenya recorded the second-highest number of new cases in the WHO Africa region excluding Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Djibouti, Sudan, and Somalia.