On the day when the Kenyan Ministry of Health confirmed 247 new cases of Covid-19 in the country on Friday, July 3, bringing the total number of cases registered so far to 7,188, the national medical research institute KEMRI released a survey based on data from Kenyan citizens who have donated blood in recent months.
According to KEMRI projections, more than 2.7 million Kenyans have been infected with the coronavirus.
The survey was based on 2,535 blood samples analyzed through blood donations collected in different parts of the country. KEMRI developed an enzyme immunosorbent immunosorbent process that focused on the so-called "spike protein" of SARS-CoV-2 and has been validated and tested in other states and on numerous occasions.
It is the antibodies produced in the blood that reveal the presence of the virus and in the case of Kenyan samples the percentage is much higher than suggested by the swab percentages.
Moreover, it has not been carried out on "targeted" targets and contacts of people already infected, but on donors who are therefore not only asymptomatic but also in good physical condition.
In the capital Nairobi the percentage of those who possess antibodies reaches 12.4%, while in other areas of the country it can reach 7%.
"There is a large gap between the confirmed test cases identified by rapid response teams in testing and tracking and the number of individuals in the population we believe have been exposed," reads an extract from the report.
Meanwhile, in the last 24 hours, 4,147 swabs have been taken, bringing the total number of samples tested in the country to 180,206.
Of the new cases, 242 are Kenyan and five are foreign. 164 of the positive cases are male and 83 are female. The age of the new cases varies from one year and the oldest is 100 years old.
Administrative Secretary of Health Rashid Abdi Aman announced in Afya House that 39 patients were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of cured cases to 2,148.
The number of Covid-19 deaths in Kenya rose to 154 after two more deaths were confirmed. Once again Nairobi County is leading with 153 cases, followed by Mombasa,35, Busia,12, Kiambu,12, Kajiado, 15, Migori, 9, Uasin Gishu, 4, Machakos, 4, Garissa 4, Murang'a 2, Siaya 2, Lamu 1 and Nyamira 1.
In the capital, the slum of Kibera and the districts of Westland and Dagoretti North are always a cause for concern.