25 Naivasha hotel staff under self-quarantine

KEMRI Lab scientist Dr Samson Limbaso works on coronavirus samples obtained from the public at the Sample Management and Reception facility in Nairobi on March 24, 2020. [Stafford Ondego, Standard]

Twenty five employees of a hotel in Naivasha have been told to self-quarantine following reports that they had come into contact with a guest who had tested positive for coronavirus.

The guest, a French national, had checked into the hotel, located along Moi South Lake road, with his partner. The man is among the eight additional people who tested positive for Covid-19 after the initial seven.

Security and health officers are tracing another 25 persons who were at the hotel at the time.

According to Naivasha Sub-counry Commissioner Mbogo Mathioya, the French couple visited the hotel on March 9 before departing the following day for Amboseli.

From Amboseli, the two left for Kilifi, where the man was confirmed to be positive.

“We have put the 25 hotel workers on a 14-day self-quarantine within the hotel as we seek the other 25 visitors,” said Mathioya.

Mathioya termed the condition of the workers as stable, but was quick to note that they were not taking chances and had decided to put the workers on quarantine as per the law.

He added that three other people, including a woman who travelled from US two weeks ago, had been placed under quarantine within Naivasha.

“The woman was on quarantine for 14 days but on day 12 she left her home and we have had to put her and two others on quarantine,” he said.

One of the affected hotel workers who declined to be named confirmed the incident, terming it as scary.

“We are really scared after we learnt that one of the visitors was positive,” the worker said.

The number of confirmed cases in Kenya now stand at 16.