British Army Training Unit employees placed on quarantine in Nanyuki
British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) employees were on Wednesday placed on quarantine in Nanyuki after they travelled from Nairobi without the requisite Covid-19 clearance to travel out of the city.
The 13, all Kenyans, who work as mechanics and drivers were intercepted at Kamangura roadside checkpoint on the outskirts of Nanyuki town travelling in a bus to the army base where they work but on interrogation they revealed they had travelled from Nairobi.
QUARANTINED
The travelers were isolated by health officials and security officers who were manning the checkpoint after checking their temperatures.
The group was detained for several hours as they sought directives from the Laikipia health department.
Health officials visited the scene where the BATUK employees were detained and resolved to have them quarantined at the military facility for 14 days where they will be tested for Covid–19 before being allowed to resume work if they test negative.
Laikipia County Commissioner Daniel Nyameti, while speaking to the media in Nanyuki, said that the employees were among a group that was caught up when the cessation of movement in and out of the capital city was announced by the president on April 6 as a containment measure to curb the spread of Covid-19.
“The workers were required at the Nanyuki army camp to service some of the vehicles and machinery used by the British Army and that’s why BATUK decided to ferry them to their facility here in Nanyuki,” Nyameti said.
REGULATIONS
The County Commissioner added that the workers would be monitored closely to ensure that they observe the quarantine regulations and that they also do not mingle with other employees during the period.
In March, BATUK said they will temporarily withdraw services from the country following the global coronavirus pandemic.
In a letter to partners, BATUK Commander Colonel Paul Gilby said he had been directed by the UK government to remove all army families back to the UK on a temporary basis.
He said that BATUK will continue to pay their locally employed community contractors, landowners and landlords.