Kagwe to Kenyans: Don't buy socks, buy masks

Health CS Mutahi Kagwe has made a special request to Kenyans: Sacrifice your socks budget and buy masks instead.

The CS said masks should be part of the dress code today.

"Masks should be part of your dress code....Don't buy socks, buy masks," said Kagwe.

Speaking at Whitesands Hotel in Mombasa on Friday, Kagwe dismissed the notion of Kenyans saying they cannot wear masks because the government has not bought them for them.

"The government does not buy shirts for you, but I do not see you walking naked because of that," he said.

This came as he announced the death of 17 more people due to Covid-19 in the last 24 hours.

The 17 bring to 981 the number of deaths caused by Covid-19 in the country.

Kenya recorded it's highest number of positives cases over a 24-hour period with 1,185 people testing positive for Covid-19 out of a sample size of 9,851 in the last 24 hours.

Of the new cases, the youngest is an 11-month-old baby while the oldest is a 93-year-old.

A total of 1,119 people are admitted at various hospitals being treated for Covid-19.

Some 4,440 others are in home-based care.

Those in ICU are 41, with 26 on ventilatory support and 15 others on supplementary oxygen.

Some 272 more recoveries were recorded over the last 24 hours with 203 of those coming from home-based care.

The country's Covid-19 case laid now stands at 53,797 with over 687,000.

Kagwe said individual irresponsibility remains the weakest link in the fight against the virus.

The CS said the government is trying to strike a balance between the economy and Kenyans' health.

"The surest way of making sure the virus does not spread is by forcing people to stay home. But at what cost would that be?" Kagwe posed.

He said individual responsibility remains a key priority in the fight against the disease.

"If you don't wear a mask and you get the virus, surely, you can't blame the government for that," said Kagwe.