Services at Kiambu county offices will be unavailable or curtailed from Monday after workers were sent home following many reports of Covid-19 among staff.
Governor James Nyoro said on Friday the offices were closed on Friday, adding only a few essential employees will be on the job; some services cannot be stopped completely, he said.
He urged the public not to complain when they can only be served by one person, and they have to wait for service.
"Some workers were noticed to have coronavirus last week, prompting us to call for proper checks and we were shocked to learn that many of them were sick," he said.
"We sent some to quarantine while others have gone into self-isolation. We will follow up to see their recovery," Nyoro said.
He did not disclose how many were sick or quarantined.
He spoke at Tigoni Hospital during the handover of a new block with 109 beds built by MRM Mabati Rolling Mills.
The block increases hospital capacity to 250 beds for Covid-19 treatment.
The governor was accompanied by MRM chief executive officer Anders Lindgren, county Health executive Joseph Murega, Environment executive David Kuria and other officials.
Lindgren said they built the block to increase capacity to handle Covid-19 patients.
The governor raised concern over the rising number of Covid cases, saying that in one week Tigoni Hospital had admitted three patients. On Friday last week, 30 patients had been admitted.
"The rate of admission within one week is scary. Our people need to take extra care. The Covid-19 second wave is real because people have interacted a lot," he said.
The governor said enforcement teams have been formed, including the provincial administration, police and health officials to ensure people follow health protocols.
The county boss also revealed some students in boarding schools have contracted the disease and are being treated in classrooms that have been converted into isolation rooms.
(Edited by V. Graham)