Effect of COVID-19 Stay at Home Requirement on Household Incomes in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

Pandemics are not a new phenomenon since they have happened numerous times throughout human history. Due to the globalization and interconnectedness of the business world today, the steps taken by governments around the world to stop the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) from spreading resulted to minimal movement of people and products, impacting business activities in Kenya. Although COVID-19 containment measures including stay at home requirement contributed to the reduction of coronavirus infection globally, household incomes were at risk due to the pandemic’s effects on business operations and economic activities. The study sought to analyze effect of COVID-19 stay at home requirement on household incomes in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. The study was anchored on the relative income theory which guided the specification framework. An explanatory research design was adopted based on 304, 943 households with a sample of 399. The data was collected using structured questionnaires issued to household heads using simple random sampling. Correlation results indicated a strong negative significant correlation between stay-at-home requirement and household income . OLS results indicated that stay-at-home requirement coefficient had a negative significant effect (β=-0.343,p=0.00<0.05)on household income. The study concluded that COVID-19 stay at home requirement affected household incomes for Uasin Gishu County, Kenya households suggesting that the restrictions imposed to curb the menace extensively led to job loss and reduction in income.