The government has waived the cost of Covid-19 testing for the business sector from Sh4,000 to Sh1,000, Tourism and Wildlife CS Najib Balala has said.
This, Balala said, is a move aimed at supporting the economy which is already taking a hammering due to the global pandemic.
This follows efforts by the government to reopen restaurants while protecting Kenyan lives in the process.
“It is the responsibility of every restaurant or eatery seeking to reopen to access the protocols as published by the Ministry of Health," he said.
However, the CS said that every establishment must develop its own standard operating procedures which must be compliant to the state protocols.
Once hotels are back in business, hoteliers will not be charged for inspection, neither will they be charged for compliance permit.
Moreover, he revealed that two taskforce teams will be reporting back next week on how the government can gradually revive the accommodation sector in hotels as well as reopening of high-end hotels without flouting its rules.
Balala was speaking on Monday during the daily Covid-19 presser where Health CAS Rashid Aman announced 28 new cases, raising the country's total number to 700 cases.
Of the new cases, 10 are from Mombasa, nine from Kajiado, seven from Nairobi, and two from Wajir.
The nine cases from Kajiado are all Kenyan truck drivers who were returning from Tanzania and tested at the Namanga border.
Health CS Mutahi Kagwe had released a raft of measures to be followed by restaurants after President Uhuru Kenyatta announced a planned easing of restrictions for eateries.
The President announced the move as one of the ways to revive the economy progressively.
