23 dead as 727 new Covid-19 cases reported in Kenya

August 1, 2020 2:44 PM

16-year-old among fataities

Health CS Mutahi Kagwe

Kenya's fatalities now stand at 364 after the highest number of deaths from Coronavirus in a day was reported on Saturday.

Health CS Mutahi Kagwe announced that 23 people had succumbed to the disease on a day when University of Nairobi lecturer Dr Ken Ouko also passed on.

Director General Patrick Amoth explained that the increasing number of the deaths reported daily could be attributed to late presentation to a heath facility by the victims.

He further explained a phenomenon he termed as "happy hypoxia" which he cautioned Kenyans to be on the lookout for.

"Kenyans, listen very carefully to this information, you can have a very serious Covid disease condition and not be aware of it. You would behave normally but when you reach the hospital the doctor very quickly ushers you into critical care when they look at your oxygen saturation.

"This is a condition brought about by Covid which is known as 'happy hypoxia'. It means that your lungs are not working optimally but you don't feel unwell. So the message to Kenyans is that if you feel unwell please seek medical attention," Dr Amoth elaborated.

Kenya's case load surpasses 21,000

CS Kagwe announced 727 new confirmed positive Covid-19 cases in the country which increased the case load to 21,363.

The 727 were recorded from a tested sample size of 6,371. 639 of the new cases are Kenyan nationals while 31 are foreigners.

A total of 254 patients - 166 from hospitals and 88 in home-based care - were declared Covid-free and discharged. The total number of recoveries now stands at 8,419.