In the bid to mitigate the spread of Coronavirus in the country, all entertainment joints i.e. bars and nightclubs will be closed by 7:30pm.
Speaking at Afya House in Nairobi, while giving the daily update on the state of COVID-19 in the country, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said that all markets will remain open, until directed otherwise, for the public to buy food.
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“All entertainment areas bars and other social places are to close their doors to the public by 7:30, every day until further notice. Effective Monday the 23rd of March, 2020. During Operational hours, all such authorized facilities are to define the maximum number of persons within their premises, at any given time, so as to confirm the social distance of 1.5 meters apart,” said CS Kagwe.
“Their above facilities are encouraged to introduce where possible home delivery services, and other innovative mechanisms to support this initiative,” he added.
Eateries will however be allowed to remain open provided they keep the social distances.
All supermarkets are required to limit the number of shoppers in the premises at a given time to conform with the 1.5 metres social distance.
The health CS encouraged Supermarkets to open on a 24 hour basis to allow people shop, saying that the government will provide security personnel for the shops to run at night.
“It is a person at a time. We do not expect people to go to supermarket or other social areas bunched together with their children, with their families… those must be left at home. Shopping should be restricted to one person,” said the Health Cs.
Open air markets will not be closed, but the Health CS has ensure market leaders to ensure the markets are clean.
“Open air markets including, vegetables, mitumbas and bazaars are high risk transmission environments, the management of local markets are directed to ensure that the premises are disinfected regularly to maintain a high standard of hygiene. Vegetable markets,, in particular, are required to ensure that their goods are displayed on rail platforms,” he dded.
TRAVEL
All 14 seater matatus carry a maximum of eight passengers; 25 seater vehicles, a maximum of 15 passengers; and 30 seaters and above, including the SGR and commuter trains, to maintain a maximum of 60 percent seating capacity.
“When this happens, it is expected that people will adhere to the directions of the public service transport operators, in other words, there is no point of having eight people in a matatu seating very close together and leaving the other seats. The idea is to stay as far away as possible from each other,” said CS Kagwe.
“Public Service Operators must clean and disinfect their vehicles at the end of each trip and provide sanitizers for passengers,” he added.
