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Restaurants in Kenya are to close business by 7:30 pm, the Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Health said on Tuesday which comes as a relief to the food industry.
“Arising from the discussions, ( with Pubs, Entertainment and Restaurants Association of Kenya (PERAK)) and reflecting on the restaurant behaviours, the National Emergency Response Committee directs that the hours of business henceforth for restaurants will be up to 7:30 pm,” said Health CS Mutahi Kagwe.
“This will allow the workers in restaurants, most of whom are actually being housed by the restaurant owners themselves within the hotels, enough time to beat the curfew hours.”
This is a two hours thirty minutes extension from the 5:pm time given on Saturday.
Mutahi further emphasised operators to strictly adhere to the protocols that are provided for by the ministry.
The guidelines include meeting the number of diners to 4 people for every 10 square meters of space and staff member with a temperature above 37.5 degrees to be blocked from entering the premises.
4️⃣Ensure that every client entering the establishment wears a face mask.
6️⃣All food handlers wear face masks.
7️⃣Provision for social and physical distancing.
8️⃣All restaurant workers must be tested. #KomeshaCorona update. https://t.co/VRmwI8HHQA— Ministry of Health (@MOH_Kenya) June 16, 2020
On Sunday, Chief Administrative Health Rashid Aman said the ministry had anticipated that working hours for the facilities would be extended due to the extension of the dusk to dawn curfew.
“We anticipate that because the curfew has been pushed up then naturally the operation hours for restaurants and eateries will equally be pushed up,” Aman said during the daily briefing of COVID-19 status in the country.
On Tuesday, the Ministry reported 133 people to have contracted the coronavirus, bringing the caseload to 3,860.
40 patients were discharged bringing the tally of recoveries to 1,326. One patient succumbed to the virus, raising the number of fatalities to 105.
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