Aga Khan University Hospital at Nairobi where the first death of coronavirus was recorded in Kenya

Kenya’s government on Thursday has confirmed the country’s first death from the coronavirus outbreak as the pandemic continues to spread across the globe.

A 66-year-old Kenyan man is the first person to die of the coronavirus in the country.

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said in a statement yesterday that the man died at the Aga Khan Intensive Care Unit in the afternoon.

Kenya becomes the second country in East Africa after Sudan to confirm a coronavirus-related death.

The total number of confirmed cases in Kenya now sits at 31, lower than in some countries in Africa.

The first death in the country brings the total deaths in Africa to 73.

The Health Cabinet Secretary earlier this week expressed concerns about two patients who he said were of advanced age.

In Africa, 43 countries have confirmed 2, 412 positive cases. Fifteen countries have confirmed coronavirus deaths.

As a continent, Africa still remains far behind the number of infections confirmed in Europe, North America and Asia.