Businesses in Nairobi central business district remain closed on August 24, 2019 due to the ongoing national census. PHOTO | KANYIRI WAHITO | NATION MEDIA GROUP At first you could work from home, then forced annual leave, now it’s unsalaried leave, or else …
The Nation has established that several companies, among them big hotels and entertainment spots, have already written to their staff asking them to take forced annual leave.
At the global level, airlines, which are bearing the brunt of the lockdown, are considering more painful decisions.
It’s 12.30pm in Nairobi. The streets are empty. If it were not for the virus scare, this would be a holiday. A waiter smiles as he fights to get my attention to convince me to get into an almost empty restaurant for lunch.
He is armed with a hand sanitiser, ready to sprinkle it on my palms if I decide to get in. He’s wearing a pair of gloves as a second layer of protection. Clearly, he’s not taking any chances. You can see a big temporary hand washing station freshly erected at the door, ready for patrons.
This is one of the efforts put in place by major establishments as they fight to remain open, going all out with hand washing points on a day Kenya confirmed its fourth coronavirus case.
Banks are also not taking any chances. A visit to several banking halls revealed other precautions taken to protect their staff and customers in a bid to ensure business continuity as the effects of the lockdown become severe.
Cleaners are now permanent features in banking halls, entrances of major buildings, restaurants, shopping malls and other major establishments, standing in corners, with gloves and sanitisers, dusting tables and chairs every hour.
The guards have one more responsibility — pointing every new visitor to a sanitisation station before they print out the tickets or join the queue.
Other financial institutions, including savings and credit cooperative societies, are asking their customers to scan documents, such as loan forms to their head offices for processing to spare them physical visits.
“We have taken a number of measures to enhance the health and safety of our colleagues and customers, including providing alcohol-based hand sanitisers across our branches,” Absa Bank Kenya said. It has also waived all transaction fees on money transfers between mobile wallets and bank accounts until June 30.The number of people with face masks on the streets […]