Treat Kenya's virus decline with caution, WHO warns

 

The decline of the coronavirus numbers in Kenya should be treated with caution, the World Health Organisation has warned.

In a statement on Monday, WHO cautioned against an interpretation that the decline meant that Kenya is flattening the curve.

"For now we would warn against premature relaxation of the effective measures put in place by the Kenyan government," WHO said.

"We advice that the wearing of masks, the frequent washing or sanitising should remain in place."

The organisation said the testing needs to be strengthened to capture a greater proportion of suspected cases within the testing regime.

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday said the country had done remarkably well and that is why Kenya had begun to flatten the curve.

"We must analyse as this virus unfolds and changes form. We are at the inflection point and here the curve can either flatten and de-escalate or take an upward surge," he said.

"We must not celebrate this happy moment too soon, but rather celebrate it with caution…the curve begins to flatten after it reaches its highest point, this is the most dangerous point."

WHO noted that epidemiological, health systems and public health surveillance considerations needs to be factored in deciding whether the decline implies interruption of transmission and review of interventions.

"While these are encouraging quality indicators that may be use as proxy to decreased transmission, the findings should be treated with caution," WHO said.

"As encouraging as the report may be, this cannot be stated conclusively, since the positivity rate can be interpreted only with comprehensive surveillance and testing of suspected cases."

WHO said this criteria should not be seen in isolation and requires widespread testing to be able to interpret this.

Kenya has recorded a slight drop in the cases during the month of August even as senior officials warned that flattening the curve might take longer.

CAS Mercy Mwangangi said a drop in the number of positive cases was not indicative of flattening of the curve amid testing bottlenecks and emergence of new hot spots in rural counties.

"The curve is not flattening, instead it is peaking," Mwangangi said.