Kenya recorded 788 new COVID-19 positive cases on Thursday, pushing the national total to 19,913, and just 87 cases shy of hitting 20,000.
The positive cases came from a sample of 5,521 cases tested over the past 24 hours and pushed the total samples tested so far to 295,280, the health ministry, said on Thursday.
14 more people died of the virus over the 24-hour period resulting in a cumulative death toll of 235, while 100 new recoveries were registered, putting the total number of recoveries at 8,121.
Out of the positive cases, 785 were Kenyans and three were foreigners, while 475 of the total were male with 313 females, health CAS Rashid Aman, said.
The youngest of the positive cases was a year old while the oldest was 89.
Nairobi continued dominating with the highest number of 487 positive cases, while Kiambu and Nakuru finished the top three with 86 and 34 positive cases respectively.
Kajiado had 26 cases, Mombasa 25, Machakos 21 and Busia 20.
Transport cabinet secretary James Macharia who also spoke during the briefing, announced that the government had opened international air travel from specific countries which he said had exhibited mild or limited community transmission of the COVID-19, or witnessed declining numbers of positive cases.
Macharia said the countries from outside Africa included China, South Korea, Japan, Canada and Switzerland, while those from within the continent included Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda, Namibia and Morocco.
He asked Kenyans planning to travel outside the country to ensure they are compliant with the COVID-19 guidelines of their countries of destination to avoid inconveniences upon their arrival.
Macharia also said flight passengers and taxis operating outside curfew hours will be exempted upon the provision of either a valid flight ticket or proof of originating from the airport.
