More than 30,000 hotel workers in the North Rift cannot get Covid-19 tests due to a row between hotel owners and governors over the cost of testing.
Tourism CS Najib Balala had directed testing be done at public hospitals for Sh1,000 per sample but most counties have asked hotel owners to use private clinics.
Governors led by Jackson Mandago of Uasin Gishu said the Moi Teacher and Referral Hospital and other public testing centres focus on suspected Covid-19 patients. They cited a lack of resources to cover hotel workers.
Hotel owners in the region have complained that approved private laboratories were charging more than Sh8,300 per sample, which they called too expensive.
“We cannot afford such costs in private facilities. Some hotels have up to 200 workers and it's not possible to raise such money for testing," Kevin Okwara, chairman of the region's hotel owners, said.
He led hotel owners to meet Uasin Gishu county commissioner Abdirisack Jaldesa and complained of unworkable conditions for re-opening of restaurants. They called the requirements punitive and discriminatory.
Last week Mandago ordered all hotels, restaurants and eateries in Eldoret and elsewhere to shut down until they comply with all Ministry of Health requirements.
The county Public Health Department served closure notices on most hotels and restaurants.
The county has issued more than 30 guidelines that hotels must comply with before being allowed to resume operations.
“You are required to immediately cease operations of your restaurant or eatery until all requirements of the protocol ... during the Covid-19 pandemic have been met," the countywide notice said.
Okwara said the hospitality industry is on the brink of collapse with thousands of jobs at stake yet the government was trying to enforce measures that hurt the sector.
He said they cannot afford the cost of frequent testing of hotel workers and cannot operate without lodging facilities as directed by Balala. He said hotels should be allowed to operate like other sectors while observing minimum conditions of wearing masks and washing hands.
“We have been asked to comply with so many costly conditions yet at the moment we are not making any money to pay for them," Okwara said.
He said it was ironic the government was closing hotel accommodations while allowing some Kenyans to operate as part of essential services.
“We are wondering where will the same people offering essential services spend the night if hotels are not allowed to open," Okwara said.
Most hotels and restaurants in Eldoret had resumed operations but most are yet to comply with conditions for reopening.
Few hotels are using thermal guns to test customers' temperatures while some are not observing social distancing in restaurants.
Eldoret is increasingly busy and crowded but commissioner Jaldesa warned residents against returning to normal while Covid-19 was still spreading.
(Edited by V. Graham)
