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Nothing is 100% foolproof: THASL President Sanath Ukwatte

24 Oct 2020

Referring to today's Covid-19 positive cases detected in the hotel industry President of The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka Sanath Ukwatte, said that no safety measure in place is 100% foolproof.  Ukwatte, speaking to The Morning, shared that upon identifying temperature hikes in the employees of both hotels, the staff were immediately isolated, the hotels were shut down, and all the staff present at the time tested; the staff are being kept in the hotel for a few days, until the results are released. “With the latest development, most hotels have been asked to minimise staff movement for ten days to two weeks. With staff who travel by public transport, we try to keep them in the hotels; provide them accommodation. We’re doing temperature checks on all the employees 3 times a day, recording them, and we also make sure a doctor is in house or nearby, so we can immediately call for medical advice and help.” “This is a pandemic and the virus spreads with human contact. Hotels are places where people gather. They are high risk areas. We have all these protocols in place -- we do temperature checks on our staff as well as our guests so we can detect a fever. We have our guests register their names, ID numbers and addresses for contact tracing.  Ukwatte urged all Sri Lankans to be very careful. “Hotels can take all the precautions, but if visitors bring the virus to the hotels, that’s another problem.” “The hotel industry is unfortunately severely impacted with this virus. If you find that you are unwell, we kindly urge you not to visit hotels. Cooperate with us to give us the support that we require right now.” Ukwatte, however, noted: “Nothing is 100% foolproof. Outsiders who come in for weddings etc. can bring in the virus. There’s a risk there.”  


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