Delhi’s civic bodies sound alert over coronavirus, issue advisory to hotels

Hotel owners in Delhi have been asked to maintain information such as a tourist’s name, country of origin, history of travel, residential address, date of arrival, room number in the hotel; proposed route of travel through India.

With coronavirus cases increasing across the world, civic agencies in the national capital have stepped up vigil. The three municipal agencies have directed guest houses and hotels to maintain detailed records of tourists arriving from six coronavirus-affected countries and inform the authorities daily.

People wearing masks, walk in a subway station, in Hong Kong. (AP Photo)

In an order issued last week, the three municipal corporations—north, south, and east—besides the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) have directed all registered hotels, motels and guest houses in the city to “report travellers coming from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, and Taiwan, whether they are foreign nationals or Indians”.

The owners have been asked to maintain information such as a tourist’s name, country of origin, history of travel, residential address, date of arrival, room number in the hotel; proposed route of travel through India. A detailed format has been provided to all the hotels and guest houses in this regard.

There are over 3,000 registered guest houses and hotels in Delhi, especially in areas such as Mahipalpur, Aerocity, Dwarka, Rohtak Road, Paharganj, Greater Kailash M Block, Chandni Chowk, etc.

“The owners have been asked to immediately contact the area Public Health Inspector (PHI) of the concerned municipal zone if a guest complains of symptoms like fever, cough, running nose, body ache and difficulty in breathing, all of which are associated with the disease,” Dr. Pramod Verma, a north body health municipal officer said.

“In case of mild symptoms, the hotel administrations have been asked to counsel the guest to stay in his/her room; for severe cases, they have to be immediately referred to Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital in New Delhi which has an isolation ward for patients suspected to be infected with nCoV,” he added.

A letter issued on February 10 by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), accessed by HT, read, “A daily report in this regard must be submitted to the undersigned (DHO office) for onward appraisal to constitute adequate preventive measures in time.”

An SDMC official, who requested not to be named, said, “We sent out these letters after a meeting with the Special Secretary (Family & Health Welfare) of the Delhi Government on February 4 to check the current status and preparedness of agencies concerning nCoV-2019 in Delhi.”

“We have been asked to direct all hotels and guest houses to provide a daily database of admitted travellers from China and six designated countries. We are forwarding the list to the Chief District Medical Officers (CDMOs) daily. This is under the IDSP (Integrated Diseases Surveillance Project),” he said.

A Delhi government official, who did not wish to be named, only said, “We have not received any cases of suspected infection so far, but are keeping a close watch.”

Sandeep Khandelwal, president of the Delhi Hotel and Restaurant Owners Association, said members of his group have received the letter and are cooperating with the agencies. “Besides, we maintain as much sanitation as we can with rigorous housekeeping, daily changing of the sheets and towels in our rooms, and hand sanitisers.”