NAIROBI, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's Ministry of Health on Wednesday warned that low use of face masks and poor social distancing is likely to trigger a spike in COVID-19 positive cases.
Rashid Aman, chief administrative secretary in the Ministry of Health said that a recent survey reveals that the mandatory requirement of wearing face masks in public places is not being adhered to in many parts of the country.
He said the survey also found overloading in public transport vehicles in urban and rural areas in disregard of social and physical distancing requirements.
Aman said overcrowded markets and political gatherings create an ideal condition for mass transmission of the virus.
"These three key challenges are rolling back all the gains we made since we began fighting this pandemic," said Aman.
He said that the country has seen remarkable progress with regard to recoveries of patients who had initially contacted the disease.
"To date, cumulatively 21, 557 patients have been able to recover from the disease both from our home-based care program, and also those discharged from hospitals," said Aman.
He said that stigmatization and discrimination against COVID-19 patients who have been discharged from quarantine and isolation centers are rampant.
"Stigmatization drives the disease underground, and defeats efforts at containing the spread of the virus," said Aman.
He said that 104 people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 35, 460.
Aman said that eight patients succumbed to the disease, bringing the total fatality to 607.
Ababu Namwamba, chief administrative secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Kenya has donated 216 million shillings (about 2 million U.S. dollars) to the African Union COVID-19 response fund and pledged an additional one million dollars to support the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
He said Kenya has mobilized 9.3 million dollars worth of medical supplies from development partners to boost the war against COVID-19. Enditem
