• As coronavirus continues to spread globally, governments and companies are requesting employees to work from home.
• Still, some companies - old and new - stand to benefit somehow from this outbreak.
In Piave village in Njoro subcounty, members of a specific church group don't shake hands out of their faith, but it has come to the reality that doing so increases the risk of spreading the virus.
But shaking hands is the most common form of greetings in Africa, it is a show of politeness and a sign of respect. But even globally, a firm handshake says a lot about a person - hence the challenge in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in Kenya.
With the global Covid-19 spread, we are forced to replace this with other greetings ways such as the 'leg shake'.
The virus is crashing global markets and affecting everything from air travel to local businesses. Still, some companies - old and new - stand to benefit somehow from this outbreak, which has now spread to at least 30 of countries in Africa.
Likewise, new business opportunities are developing out of the pandemic. Manufacturers of hand sanitisers and soap should increase production to meet the rising demand.
E-Commerce, for instance, is reaping big from facilitating online conferences and meetings. Goods and services can be transacted via the internet as we heed President Uhuru Kenyatta's directive to work from home to minimise the spread of the virus.
As coronavirus continues to spread globally, governments and companies are requesting employees to work at the comfort of their homes to help contain the spread. It will take some time to adapt to working from a home environment, considering children are out of school. But this is an opportunity for governments and companies to see the productivity between working from home and the office.
It also takes a lot of discipline to resist sleeping in into work hours just because there's no one to supervise your work. This means the initiative is in everyone's hands as the virus affects people and nations regardless of their political, social or economic status.
Managing partner Watermark Consultants