You still stand a high chance of succumbing to Covid-19 even after getting admission to intensive care unit, data from the Kenyan health ministry, which confirmed 497 new cases yesterday, show.

The figures show that 78 of the 225 coronavirus patients who had been admitted to ICU died, with five succumbing yesterday.

The ministry expressed fears that if the numbers of those requiring ICU care shoot up, hospitals will run out of space.

Health Director-General Patrick Amoth said the procedures needed for people in ICU are complex and time consuming and “if the numbers of those in need of critical care go up, we will not be able to have the adequate numbers of healthcare worker to offer this service.”

The new cases announced by Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe — 318 males and 179 females — takes Kenya’s Covid-19 caseload to 10,791.

Mr Kagwe expressed concern over the high number of those testing positive in Nairobi, which accounts for more than half of all the cases at 5,705. Mombasa (1,739), Busia (550) and Kiambu (520) also recorded spikes in infections.