The department of public health in Naivasha has outlawed food hawking around Naivasha sub-county hospital.
The department has also banned the dropping and picking of passengers at the facilities gate by both matatus and motorcycle operators.
According to the notice signed by James Kinyua from the department of public health, the hospital gate should be kept clear of all obstructions.
As per the notice, the food hawking, obstruction by the boda boda operators and dropping of passengers by matatus were a nuisance.
“All hawking of fruits near the hospital gates and dropping of passengers should stop with immediate effect and failure to comply with the directive will lead to legal action,” reads the notice.
Speaking on phone, the superintendent in charge of the hospital Dr Joseph Mburu welcomed the move adding that it had come at the right time.
He said that with the ongoing cholera outbreaks in parts of the country, food hawking outside the hospital posed a threat to patients.
“We are working with the department of public health to make sure that the ban on food hawking mainly around the hospital gate is effected,” he said.
He said that with the ongoing rains, there was need to minimize handling of food which he pointed out as one of the main causes of cholera in the area.
“We have tens of people outside the hospital gate poorly handling food and this could be one of the main reasons for the spread of cholera in this area,” he said.
Already, the department of public health is on high alert following the cholera outbreak in parts of the country with fears that this could spread to the lakeside town.
The department has embarked on treating shallow wells in Kihoto estate which in the past has recorded tens of cases of cholera.
Lakeview MCA Simon Wanyoike welcomed the move to treat the wells noting that the estate which is home to tens of flower farm workers was prone to cholera.
“There is an ongoing major water project that is in the last phase in this estate and in a couple of months all the shallow wells will be rendered irrelevant,” he said.