More than 900 health workers in Kenya have tested positive for the coronavirus since the country reported its first case in March.

The revelation was made by Health Chief Administrative Secretary Dr. Mercy Mwangangi on Thursday during a press briefing on the latest on the country’s status regarding the pandemic.

Mwangangi also revealed that 16 health workers had been killed by the deadly virus.

"To date, since the beginning of the pandemic, a total of 945 health care workers have been infected with the virus, whereas 16 of these have succumbed to the virus across 35 counties in the country," Mwangangi said.

The Kenyan government had previously pointed out it was inevitable that some health care workers would get infected with COVID-19 but infection was not a death sentence and that one stood a good chance of recovering from it.

The government also reiterated its commitment to protecting all its frontline workers by providing them with the necessary equipment to protect themselves as they went about their duties.

At the same time, Mwangangi reported that the ministry had recorded 183 new cases confirmed COVID-19 cases bringing the total number of positive cases to 36,576.

Mwangangi also reported that 82 more patients had recovered from the virus bringing the total number of recoveries to 23,611.

Meanwhile, five more patients died of the disease raising the East African nation's death toll to 642.

As the government continues its gradual reopening of the economy, health officials have cautioned against premature celebrations that the country may be past the worst of the pandemic.

(With input from agencies)