Panic grips Kericho GK Prison after 48 inmates, staff test positive for COVID-19

Panic has gripped the  Kericho GK Prison after 48 staff and inmates tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.

The cases were from the 75 samples which were collected from the facility during a mass-testing exercise conducted by the Kericho County  Department of Health.

In a statement on Thursday, Kericho Governor Paul Chepkwony said the mass testing was informed by a spike of positive cases in the county.

Chepkwony said the 48 cases were in stable condition.

The Department of Health has since embarked on contact tracing.

“Consequently, the Department of Health and the Prisons Management have put in place appropriate measures to curb the spread,” Chepkwony stated.

He urged all the residents with relatives and friends in the correctional facility to stay calm as  the pandemic was being contained.

” Further, members of the public are cautioned not to visit the facility until further notice,” the governor asserted.

At the same time, he urged all citizens to continue observing the set guidelines pertaining the  COVID -19 Pandemic and reassured the residents of Kericho that measures to contain the invisible enemy had been put in place.

Further, the Governor revealed that 61 patients were currently being treated in various isolation centers in the county whilst 52 others were receiving care under the home-based care system

Kericho has recorded 63 recoveries from the virus so far and 2 fatalities at a time when the Ministry of Health warns that positive cases may be on the rise.

On Thursday, MoH announced 426 new cases of the coronavirus, which pushed the country’s case load to 31,441..

The new cases were from 5158 samples tested in the country between Wednesday and Thursday.

The Ministry of Health also announced 257 new recoveries which bring the total number of recoveries so far to 17,869.

At the same time, the coronavirus death toll in the country rose to 516 after 10 patients succumbed between Wednesday and Thursday.