Week 7 trying to work from home.
COVID-19 or Corona Virus or Rona as the new swag name took all by surprise. I first heard of this virus sometime at the end of January 2020. All I knew was that the Virus was in Wuhan China. The number of cases was worrying. There was all manner of suggestions where the virus came from. The Chinese delicacies ranking up there eg bats.
When the virus was transferred to other countries and number of infections rose at an alarming level, I knew it was just a matter of time before it landed in Kenya. Caution was taken on incoming travelers. It was almost comical that the only way of isolating any incoming visitors was through measuring temperature levels. I mean one can get a fever due to several reasons eg flu, an infection etc
When the first case was announced it was shocking though expected. There were many who believed that the virus could not survive in hot countries. Well, this was just a myth and the cases have been on the rise. As a Tour Operator, my sector has been hardest hit. The president of the republic of Kenya put measures and asked people to work from home on 15th March, 2020. He also closed our borders for any Tourists from a Corona confirmed case country. I was expecting some clients from Australia on 16th March, 2020. This was a Tour Operators worst nightmare. I needed answers and needed them urgently in order to advice my clients. The beauty of technology is that we have a lot of what sup groups and the information was discussed and answers given. There was no way my clients would have been allowed into the country and if by any chance the immigration allowed them, they would have spent a total of 14 days in quarantine which was equal to their vacation days. We jointly agreed to postpone the vacation to sometime later.
Anyone in the Tourism sector will tell you that our work is hands on. We use a B to B (Business to Business) and B to C (Business to Client) mode. Working from home was very confusing at the start because how was one supposed to work without the supplier or the client. We have gone through all the motions and have started regrouping through the webinars and zoom conferences which are bringing reason to the industry. Reason to hold on. Majority have resulted on improving their web presence hoping for better days to come.
We at Easy Go Safaris are also optimistic of better days to come. We need all the positivity we can get and choose to remain optimistic.
