Bar and restaurant owners want the State to increase operating hours in a move aimed at raking in more revenues for a sector that is making huge losses on reduced customers following the outbreak of the coronavirus in Kenya in March.
Pubs, Entertainment and Restaurant Association of Kenya national chair Alice Opee said they want the facilities to operate between 5am and 8pm, adding that shorter working hours the State imposed deny them business.
“We are appealing to the State to extend our operating hours from 5am to 8pm. Our customers tend to visit our premises after work and it’s, therefore, unsustainable for us to close business at 4pm,” Ms Opee told the Saturday Nation yesterday.
The State in April allowed hotels and restaurants that had suspended operations over coronavirus safety concerns to resume operations between 5am to 4pm
However, the State yesterday reiterated that the hotels and restaurants should adhere to new measures or risk losing permits.
Ms Opee said the State extended curfew hours from 9pm to 4am to enable businesses to operate for more hours yet hotels and restaurants are required to close early.
She said the sector is prepared to work until 8pm because they have arranged for staff accommodation at their premises.
Some operators, she said, have also made plans to transport their staff to their homes after work.
“All these arrangements are in place as we continue engaging the State on how best the sector can be opened up.”
GUIDELINES
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe allowed restaurants to reopen between 5am and 4pm and observe social-distancing measures.
He added that the hotels, among other guidelines, must place tables at least 1.5 metres apart and limit the number of patrons per table to four per 10 square metres.
Restaurants were also required to check the temperatures of customers coming to the eateries and restrict access to those with fever symptoms.
Further, the measures require that all workers at the facilities be tested for Covid-19 to reduce the risk of waiters spreading the disease.