The number of COVID-19 infections in Kenya rose to 152,523 on Tuesday after 629 people tested positive from a sample size of 5,832 tests conducted in the last 24 hours.

According to figures published by the Ministry of Health, 612 of the new people that tested positive are Kenyans while the remaining 17 are foreigners. Males account for 358 and females account for 271.

In total, 4,698 health care workers have so far contracted the virus, out of which 2,562 are females and 2,136 are males. The fatality for health care workers stands at 38.

The ministry also noted that 18 more people succumbed to the disease, pushing the East African country’s total number of virus-related fatalities to 2,519.

Both the virus load and death toll recorded in Kenya are the eighth-highest in Africa.

The country has rolled out a mas vaccination drive in efforts to contain the pandemic. By Tuesday, some 721,509 had received their first jabs of the vaccine.

Various government-imposed containment measures also remain in place, including a nationwide nighttime curfew, a partial lockdown affecting regions considered highly affected and a mandatory wearing of face coverings.

The health ministry noted in its brief that 103,838 people have successfully recovered from the disease.