Sixty-two cases in a single day, it had never happened before that Malindi Costituency recorded such a high number of positives from Covid-19, compared to a general increase in the whole County of Kilifi that for the first time exceeds even Mombasa and after Nairobi is the second for total cases recorded in the last 24 hours. 
It would not be worrying if the health situation in the County was not, as for many other regions, precarious. The general hospital in Malindi is now almost full and its units where it is possible to isolate patients are beginning to suffer. Many of the new positives are asymptomatic, and others follow treatment at home, but the risk is that those who need oxygen and ventilators cannot be treated adequately.
However, a clarification comes from Dr. Sultan, responsible for the Covid-19 emergency for Kilifi County: "The data from the tests in Malindi refer to the laboratory that analyses them, which is inside the General Hospital", explains Sultan, "so they are not all residents of Malindi but come from various parts of the County".
All this happens at the end of the worst week ever for Kenya, which has exceeded 70,000 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic and for several days now has not fallen below 20 official deaths every 24 hours. In addition to these, there are many other extreme cases that are not assimilated to Covid-19, but the pathologies seem to confirm that the virus has made a decisive contribution.
In just two weeks, the country has lost 254 people, as documented by the Ministry of Health. In the last seven days, the number has been 146, including doctors and other frontline workers.
But above all, for the first time the mortality rate of the virus rises to 1.8%, only 0.5% less than the global average of 2.3%.
"We are currently witnessing a surge in the number of cases with a well-established community transmission," reported Health Director General Patrick Amoth. "However, we will need a little more time and a more in-depth study of the graphs and models in order to have reliable projections on the peak of this second wave.
Recent deaths include frontline health workers whose safety has been compromised both in hospital and in the community due to a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as increased infection. In his update yesterday, Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe had to announce the departure of four doctors, Dr Emarah Ashraf (plastic surgeon and reconstructor), Dr Hudson Alumera (periodontal surgeon), Dr Jackline Njoroge (administrator of Thika Hospital) and Dr Faith Kanjiru.
"It saddens me to inform the country that among the people we have lost today are four doctors," said Kagwe. "I take this opportunity, on my own behalf and on behalf of the government, to offer my condolences to the families and friends of the four doctors and to those who have lost their loved ones to the disease.
The situation is so serious that the National Association of Doctors has convened an extraordinary meeting to take a united stance on the increase in Covid-19 deaths in the country.
The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has already warned all doctors not to risk their lives until their hospitals offer them the chance to work safely.
Eyes are now on the counties, also because according to Nairobi doctors, in the coming weeks it will no longer be available to receive patients from outside and that citizens will have to measure themselves against the facilities in their area of residence, although the Minister reassured, saying that the health situation in the capital is now under control and that some minor hospitals and even Kenyatta University is only half full. "Of course, if it continues like this in two months' time, every citizen will no longer be able to rely on the facilities in Nairobi," admitted Kagwe.
"A number of counties are operating at full capacity in isolation wards, intensive care units and high dependency units, which means that many counties can no longer admit new patients," said Chairman of the Board of Governors Wycliffe Oparanya. "This is an acute crisis, patients could lose the battle if the only way forward is Nairobi.
Until a week ago, 12 counties still had less than the 300 isolation beds required by the government for each county, and even 11 have less than five beds in intensive care.