Covid-19: Nyeri suspends non-essential services for one month
Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga addresses guests outside his office after receiving a donation of hospital equipment from USAID on December 17, 2020.
What you need to know:
- Mr Kahiga said one county official has died while five others have been hospitalised after contracting the virus.
Nyeri County has suspended all non-essential services for one month to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Governor Mutahi Kahiga made the announcement in a statement on Friday, noting the death of a senior officer in the department of housing and planning.
Mr Kahiga said five other officials within the county government have been hospitalised after contracting the virus.
Governor Kahiga said only staff offering essential services will work from the county offices as all others work from home.
These essential workers, he said, are those offering health, finance, revenue, garbage collection, firefighting, water and emergency services.
Older population
Mr Kahiga added that staffers aged 58 years and above must immediately start working from home. They will be vaccinated for free beginning next week after the county receives more doses from the Ministry of Health.
To cushion the business community against adverse Covid-19 effects, Governor Kahiga introduced measures including waivers on land rates and trade licensing fees, and extended the deadline for payments for the latter.
Governor Kahiga said the worsening situation has disrupted the business environment, making it untenable for the county to continue expecting the same figures in terms of revenue collected.
As a result, the administration reduced by 50 percent all fees paid by small scale traders, waived late land rates and payment penalties for one month, waived 25 per cent of the annual liquor licensing fee and extended the deadline for making business permit payments by a month.
He also said matatu operators in Nyeri will pay half of what they have been paying as the monthly fee for operating in the county. This is until the lockdown of the five disease-infested counties is lifted, he said.
