NAIROBI, Kenya June 24 – The Ministry of Health Wednesday said Mombasa and Nairobi Counties are leading with the highest attack rates of COVID-19 at 107.9 and 55.2 per 100,000 population respectively as compared to the country’s 10.4 rate.
Latest statistics released by the Ministry show that Nairobi and Mombasa account for 2,555 and 1,340 respectively of the total 5,206 cases detected in the country out of the 151,396 samples analysed so far.
Out of the 40 counties which have reported COVID-19 infections, Busia and Kajiado come in third and fourth with 370 and 201 cases respectively.
By June 24, infections of the virus in the country had increased to 5,206 with 130 fatalities since mid-March when the first case was reported.
Speaking during the daily briefing on the status of the pandemic, Health Chief Administrative Secretary Dr Mercy Mwangangi said the high disparity was being analysed, but linked it to various variables related to the adherence of COVID-19 measures.
Mwangangi also attributed the surging rate to the high importation of COVID-19 cases during the initial spread of the virus in the country.
“It is a function of multiple variables, there are certain variables in regards to adherence of measures, for these two counties, we had many import cases coming here at the beginning of the pandemic,” she said.
The increased spread could also be due to high mobility in the two urban regions owing to the various activities and increased contact among individuals.
“Perhaps due to the high mobilities since these are urban towns with high activities, and this could be among factors which have contributed to the high attack rates,” she added.
The Ministry of Health has urged people residing in Nairobi and the coastal city to be more alert and adhere to the guidelines issued by the government.
“If you are in Nairobi or Mombasa, it is expected that you are on guard in terms of ensuring you are adhering to the measures,” the Health CAS said.
