Kenya confirms 8 new COVID-19 cases, 216 in total

Kenya's ministry of health on Tuesday confirmed eight new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infected to 216.

Mercy Mwangangi, chief administrative secretary in the Ministry of Health, said that medical personnel have tested 694 samples in the last 24 hours.

"Five are Kenyan nationals and the other three are a Briton, a Pakistani and Ugandan nationals," Mwangangi told journalists in Nairobi.

She said that six persons have a history of travel from United Arab Emirates, Britain, Pakistan, Zambia and Comoros.

Mwangangi said six of the cases emanated from the mandatory quarantine centers, while two were picked by the surveillance teams.

The official further noted that over the same period, one more person was discharged from hospital, bringing the total number of recoveries to 41.

Mwangangi noted that a total of 2,331 contacts have been monitored, out of which 1,729 have been discharged, noting that medical personnel are currently following 602 contacts at the moment.

Mwangangi said that Kenya is beginning a crucial phase in the battle against the virus.

"Despite the measures we have put in place, we are witnessing a phenomenon where the virus is increasingly moving to the counties," she said.

She said that the government is rolling out the mass testing exercise, taking into consideration the risk profiles of clusters.