Kenya's health minister said on Friday the government had suspended all in-person meetings and public gatherings countrywide to try to contain Covid-19, whose spread in the country he now attributes to the Delta variant.

Mutahi Kagwe said in a televised address that the government had asked public and private sector employers to allow their workers to work from home, unless they were classified as essential services.

"All public gatherings and in person meetings of whatever nature are suspended countrywide. In this regard, all government, including intergovernmental meetings and conferences, should henceforth be converted to either virtual or postponed in the coming 30 days," he said.

As of Thursday, Kenya had a total 200 109 confirmed Covid-19 cases, 3 910 deaths and 188 222 recoveries, with a 14.4% positivity rate, health ministry data showed.