The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued a document to provide interim guidance about the environmental cleaning/decontamination in hotels/stay facilities where guests with potential exposure to coronavirus have housed.
The following guidelines should be followed:
Hotel Reception
Hotel staff at the reception should be well versed in hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, and protocols to be followed if a guest develops symptoms.
All Guests
1. Ask guests whether they have resided in or history of travel to an affected area or contact with a known case in the past 14 days. (As per travel advisory on web site of MoHFW)
2. Advise to observe good personal hygiene, especially hand hygiene and respiratory (cough and sneeze) hygiene
3. Provide alcohol-based handrub containing 70% alcohol to guests in public areas (reception, lobby, restaurants. conference area, business centre, gym etc.)
4. Provide surgical masks to guests if they develop respiratory symptoms.
For guests with history of travel to or resided in the affected areas
1. Provide information pamphlet upon check-in or visit https://mohfw.gov.in/node/4904
2. Guest(s) is/are advised to stay in the room if feeling unwell, wear a surgical mask and call hotel operator at once for assistance.
3. Encourage person with respiratory symptoms to sit away from others ideally at a distance of
4. 1-2 m
Handling sick guest(s) with history of travel to or resided in the affected areas
1. Advise and assist sick guest(s) who develop symptoms (fever, cough, sore throat, breathlessness, etc.) within 14 days after return from the affected areas, call control
-room/identified hospital and inform about the condition of sick guest(s). Arrange for ambulance and consultation in Emergency Department.
2. Before seeking medical care:
+ Advice sick guest(s) to stay in his/her room and put on a surgical mask.
• Group and relocate any asymptomatic roommate(s) to another room, and they should stay in the relocated room(s).
• Minimize contact with sick guest(s), and other guest(s) travelling along with the sick
guest(s).
• Staff should put on PPE while interacting with/ shifting sick guest.
• Staff should be aware of the symptoms, and should report immediately if they develop any symptoms and should be immediately referred to an identified healthcare facility.
Environmental cleaning: Due to the potential survival of the virus in the environment for about a week, the premises and potentially contaminated areas should be cleaned before their re- use, using products containing antimicrobial agents known to be effective against coronaviruses.
These guidelines provide guidance for environmental cleaning in hotels/lodging facility housing people exposed/ potential exposure to SARS-CoV 2.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
1. Wear appropriate PPE while carrying out cleaning and disinfection work.
2. Wear disposable gloves (heavy duty), disposable long-sleeved gowns, eye goggles or a face shield, and an N95 mask.
3. Avoid touching the eyes, nose and mouth
4. Gloves should be removed and discarded if they become soiled or damaged, and a new pair is to be worn.
5. All other disposable PPE should be removed and discarded after cleaning activities are completed.
6. S. PPE should be discarded in a thick plastic bag, sealed, labelled and sent to the nearest health facility for discarding as an infectious waste.
7. Hands should be washed with soap and water immediately afier each piece of PPE is removed, following completion of cleaning.
8. The cleaning crew should be aware of the symptoms, and should report immediately if they develop symptoms and should be immediately referred to an identified healthcare facility.
