Kenya confirms 12 new cases as tally rises to 355

Kenya's ministry of health on Sunday confirmed additional 12 new coronavirus (COVID-19) cases, bringing the total number of infections to 355.

Rashid Aman, chief administrative secretary for health said that all the 12 are Kenyans but three have a recent history of travel from neighboring Somalia.

He said eight more people have recovered in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of recoveries to 106.

"We have noted the number of recoveries steadily going up while fatalities have stagnated. In the last one week, the number of those who have died from COVID-19 has remained at 14," Aman told journalists in Nairobi.

He directed that testing of track drivers to start immediately at all border crossing points in the country.

He also told county governments to increase training of their healthcare workers by utilizing the already trained personnel as trainers.

Aman said the health ministry will collaborate with county governments to identify COVID-19 isolation facilities at health facilities across the country.

Education cabinet secretary George Magoha said the government has extended school closure for one month effective May 4 which was the initial opening date.

Magoha, however, said the national examinations are however still on, saying any other decisions, on the contrary, will depend on the government's ability to control the spread of the novel coronavirus.

He noted that when the examinations are finally administered, learners will have been given enough time to make up for the time lost during the coronavirus outbreak period.

The East African nation has banned large gatherings to ensure social distancing; closed learning institutions, imposed a countrywide night curfew, suspended international passenger flights and closed borders among other measures to contain the spread of COVID-19.