Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui has launched a Ksh250 million kitty to cushion the county's families bearing the brunt of Covid-19 effects.
Addressing a presser after the County Disaster Management Committee on Tuesday, March 31, according to KNA, the governor disclosed that the kitty was meant for families whose breadwinners have lost their employment.
He estimated the job losses at 124,000 in some areas of the county with Naivasha recording the highest owing to its tendency to lean towards the hospitality industry.
Broken down, he disclosed that Naivasha had recorded job losses upwards of 70,000 persons. Njoro, Subukia and Rongai Sub-counties, which depend heavily on cut-flower exports, lost 50,000 jobs.
In Nakuru, over 4,000 people who were working in the tourism sector were sent packing after hotels closed down over tough working environments.
He also noted that the county government was in talks with other sectors including the private sector, individuals, non-governmental organizations and humanitarian agencies, to increase the kitty for the affected families.
Also present at the function, County Commissioner (CC), Erastus Mbui Mwenda noted that the county was working with the government to increase isolation centres in the region.
Part of the plans, he added, was to introduce counselling services for those who test positive or are taken into quarantine.
Kinyanjui also promised to equip isolation centres with proper amenities equipment and provisions to ensure patients access proper services while under monitoring.
He also noted that he had got into contact with governors from other counties that had already recorded positive cases to ensure people are screened before entering Nakuru.
The country has recorded 59 positive cases of the disease and one death.
At the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE), the market capitalisation shrunk by Sh120 billion which was one of the largest declines in a single day when the first coronavirus case was revealed.
