KNCCI-Nairobi County Update on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

By Kenneth K. Mutai, Chief Executive Officer

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The coronavirus (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) after its rapid spread to countries around the world, including Kenya where seven (7) cases have been confirmed so far.

As the coronavirus situation continues to develop, we have continued to adjust our operations based on the government directives and recommendations by public health authorities, including the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the World Health Organization (WHO). In the past few days, we have asked our staff members to work in shifts and adhere to healthy measures that reduce the risk of spread and infection of the virus.

Today, in line with the government’s efforts to contain the spread of the virus, we have taken the additional step of suspending all Nairobi Chamber events and public activities that were scheduled to take place in the next few days and weeks, namely:

• The Business Breakfast Meeting has been suspended from taking place on 31^st March 2020 at Heron Portico Hotel. It stands postponed until the situation improves.
• The SME Business Training, scheduled for 7^th-8^th April 2020 at Kenya Comfort Hotels, has also been postponed until the situation improves.
• The Nairobi Jua Kali Expo, scheduled for 27^th-29^th April 2020 at Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC), has been postponed indefinitely until the outbreak is repressed.

In addition, we have extended the deadline for submission of bids for prequalification of suppliers for the years 2020 and 2021, from 20^th March 2020 to 30^th April 2020 at 5:00pm.

Our commitment to the health and safety of our members, our employees and Nairobi City County residents remains a top priority and we will continue to make thoughtful decisions with that in mind. We apologize for any inconveniences caused by these changes and commit to provide updates as we monitor the developments.