Pay to be quarantined: 31 hotels in and around Kolkata to offer rooms to people asked to self-isolate

Kolkata: Amid the spurt in COVID-19 cases, a total of 31 hotels in the city and nearby Rajarhat and New Town areas have agreed to offer pay-and use rooms to people who have been asked to live in isolation for 14 days, a senior official said. The state government had requested the hotels to let out some of their rooms as quarantine units, following which necessary arrangements were made at these properties, in accordance with the protocols set by the health department, he said. [caption id=“attachment_8008251” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image of the quarantine facility set by up ITBP at Chhawla area of New Delhi. PTI[/caption] “The decision was taken in view of the increasing demand for quarantine centres. We had approached the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Eastern India (HREEI), following which 31 hotels were selected for the purpose,” he said. According to the health department, the rooms should have an attached bathroom facility. The department also stated that windows be “kept open during daytime, and the floor and other surfaces in the rooms be mopped with bleach solution”. “Soiled linens, clothes, towel shall not be mixed with those of others and shall be disinfected with bleach, washed properly and sun-dried daily and also before next use. Freshly prepared bleach solution (that is one per cent hydrochloride solution) must be used to clean furniture wash basin and toilets,” the department said. All housekeeping and room service staffers have been asked to wear masks and gloves while serving the guests. “No visitors other than doctors, medical officers or authorised officials shall be allowed inside the hotel to meet a quarantined person,” the department noted. According to the state government directive, after completion of the 14-day quarantine period “the guests will be allowed to leave subject to the permission from the health department”. “If any person develops (COVID-19) symptoms such as fever, cough and respiratory Illness during his or her stay, the hotel management must mandatorily inform the nodal officer immediately for taking appropriate action,” it said. The state health department will designate a medical officer, who will visit and monitor the pay-and-use quarantine units at these designated hotels from time to time, the order added. According to reports, the state government is also building two more facilities one in the city and the other in Rajarhat for suspected coronavirus patients.