Kenya’s Ministry of Health has banned feasting at funerals as the country’s Covid-19 cases jumped to 84,169 on Tuesday after 551 more people tested positive in the last 24 hours.
The new cases were confirmed from 4,675 samples tested, according to the ministry during a press briefing held on Tuesday.
Health CAS Dr Rashid Aman said Covid-19 protocols that were issued on weddings and funerals are still in force despite even as cases reported in the past few days seem to point at reducing daily confirmed infections.
Dr Aman said that funeral services will now be limited to 100 people and only 15 close members of the deceased will be allowed at the grave site.
Duration of the service must not exceed an hour and no food is to be served.
“The number of people to attend funerals has been limited to 100 and only 15 close family members are to be allowed at the grave side. The duration of the burial must not exceed one hour and no food is to be served at funerals,” Dr Aman said.
The maximum number of persons attending funerals and weddings was revised from 100 to 200 in the last address by President Uhuru Kenyatta in September on advice of the clergy.
The CAS urged Kenyans to adhere to the measures in order to fight against the pandemic.
He at the same time announced that 226 patients recovered from the virus in the last 24 hours, and of this number, 206 were from home-based care and six discharged from various hospitals.
The CAS also announced that fatalities from the Coronavirus had risen to 1,474 following the death of five patients in the previous 24 hours.
From the latest confirmed Covid-19 cases, 525 are Kenyans while 26 are foreigners.
