COVID-19 TEST: Samples are taken from a truck driver for Covid-19 test at the Miritini Covid-19 Testing Centre on July 3. Photo John Chesoli

Some 129 more people have tested positive for Coronavirus bringing the total number to 99,898 confirmed cases.

A statement from the Ministry of Health indicated that the new cases were from a sample size of 5,091 that was tested in the last 24 hrs.

As a result, cumulative tests done so far stand at 1,153,121 since the first case was reported in the country in March last year.

Of the new cases, 108 are Kenyans while 21 are foreigners with 79 being males and 50 females.

The youngest is a three-month-old infant while the oldest is 83 years old.

Nairobi county has 81 cases followed by Kiambu with 8 cases, Mombasa 8 cases, Siaya 7 cases, Nakuru 5 cases, Kajiado 4 cases, Kilifi 4 cases, Uasin Gishu 3 cases, Kitui 3 cases, Turkana 2 cases and Homa Bay, Kisii, Machakos and Meru counties each one case.

According to the statement, 70 patients have recovered from the disease of whom 44 are from various health facilities and 26 from the Home-Based Isolation and Care.

This brings the total of recoveries to 82,936.

The total fatality cases remain at 1,740 as there was no death that was recorded within the same period.

Currently, there are 541 patients admitted to various health facilities across the country while 1,564 are on Home Based Isolation and Care.

Some 27 patients are in the Intensive Care Unit of whom 16 are on ventilatory support and 10 on supplemental oxygen.

One patient is under observation.

Another 14 patients are separately on supplementary oxygen with 10 of whom are in the general wards and 4 are in the High Dependency Unit-HDU. - Patrick Vidija, The Star

Photo Anadolu Agency

Turkey’s state-run aid agency on Friday donated materials to be used by women to make sandals in South Sudan, a landlocked country in East-Central Africa.

The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) donated several sandal-making items to empower women by providing them opportunities to earn independently.

“We support humanitarian and developmental projects for the benefit of the people of South Sudan,” said Mustafa Kemal Akbulut, Turkey’s deputy chief of mission for political and economic affairs. He disclosed that about 46 women were trained on how to make sandals.

“This project will empower women and will generate income for them and we will be working together with relevant South Sudanese authorities and NGOs,” Akbulut added.

Peter Mayen Majongdit, the minister of humanitarian affairs and disaster management, thanked the Turkish government for the support, saying it will improve livelihoods of people.

Angelina Abuk, one of the beneficiaries, said the project is very important for them because it is going to change their lives.

The project for making sandals is being implemented by a women-led national organization LULU CARE.

Turgut Gazigil, the acting coordinator for TIKA in Juba, was also present at the occasion. - Benjamin Takpiny, Anadolu Agency

President Uhuru Kenyatta has reportedly fired his private secretary Jomo Gecaga, several sources have claimed.

Gecaga, who is also the President’s nephew, has been working with Uhuru since his time as the Finance Minister in the Coalition Government. State House is yet to comment on the reports.

Just in: President Uhuru Kenyatta had reportedly fired his personal assistant Jomo Gecaga.

The bad blood between the President and his aide first played out during Uhuru’s visit to Namibia in March 2019. The President questioned why Gecaga, a man he described as a long-serving Personal Assistant, was not taking notes during a meeting with Kenyans living in the Southern African country.

Unconfirmed rumours also claim that Gecaga could have been fired due to his close relationship with ex-Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko. Uhuru and Sonko are in a bear-knuckles fight, following revelations by the President that he engineered the latter’s impeachment.

It is also worth knowing that Gecaga has two kids with former K24 news anchor Anne Kiguta. Kiguta controversially quit from the Kenyatta family-owned in December last year, citing fundamental disagreements with her bosses. Her ‘Punchline Programme’ had been turned into a propaganda tool against Deputy President William Ruto.

Gecaga, a brother to KICC CEO Nana Gecaga, recently made headlines after former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero sued him over unpaid rent at a high-end apartment in Riverside, Nairobi. The President’s aide is said to have failed to pay Kshs 540,000 monthly rent, claiming that he had been financially affected by COVID-19 KDRTV