• One of the eight people who have tested positive of the virus spent the night at the three-star-hotel located along Moi South Lake Road.
• Hotel workers have been sent home as number of visitors reduce.
Naivasha residents have been urged to adhere to government directives in the fight against Covid-19 after 25 workers from one of the hotels were quarantined.
This came after it emerged that one of the eight people who have tested positive of the virus spent the night at the three-star-hotel located along Moi South Lake Road.
According to Naivasha subcounty commissioner Mathioya Mbogo, they had heightened their surveillance in and around the town. Addressing the press in his office, Mbogo appealed to residents to adhere to the government directives of washing hands thoroughly and frequently, staying indoors and avoiding crowded areas.
“We are working closely with health workers and our chiefs in identifying those people who arrived in the country recently so they can be placed in self-quarantine,” he said.
On the issue of the 25 workers, Mbogo said they were keenly monitoring their condition, with visits to the hotel limited only to health workers.
“A French couple visited the hotel on March 9 before departing the following day for Amboseli and later to Kilifi where the man was confirmed to be positive,” he said.
They are also keenly following operations in tens of flower farms in the area in the wake of the pandemic.
“At the moment, the farmers have agreed to send their workers on paid leave and we hope the situation will improve in the coming days,” he said.
According to Ferdinand Juma, the Kenya Plantations and Agricultural Workers Union (KPAWU) secretary-general Naivasha branch, the situation was changing by the day. He said that already, nearly all the farms had been affected and there were fears that the numbers could rise in the coming days.
“Since last week, around 3,000 workers have been sent on paid leaves while those on contract have been sent home for two weeks as their employers monitor the situation,” he said.
Juma admitted that the crisis had raised anxiety and fear among thousands of workers in Naivasha as their jobs were at stake.
“We have over 30,000 workers in various flower farms in Naivasha and currently the situation is worrying as very few flowers are being exported due to the coronavirus crisis,” he said.