Bengaluru hoteliers unwilling to let space for COVID-19 quarantine; BBMP notifies 17 hotels

The Bengaluru hoteliers seem to be unwilling to let out their hotels for setting up makeshift coronavirus quarantine facilities, even as the state government has notified 17 hotels in the city for the purpose.

“We have told the government to first take Ravishanker Guruji Ashram, Kaveri Guest House, Kumara Krupa Guest House, Officers Club, Jungle Lodges, etc. Definitely then hoteliers will take their stand,” Bruhat Bangalore Hotel Association President, PC Rao told DH.

There are approximately 3,500 hotels in the city, and of them 580 hotels are having standard features for using as quarantine facility.

He, however, said that the government should consult individual hotel owners on this. “The government can take hotels if hoteliers agree and only if it is possible to quarantine. Many hotels have no employees now, there are AC issues, among many other things,” he said.

However, across Karnataka, there are two hotels that have voluntarily given their facility for quarantine -- Hotel Viceroy in Mysuru and Hotel Metro in Hubballi. On March 29, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palika (BBMP) identified around 1,418 rooms across 17 hotels in the city to quarantine persons with symptoms of COVID-19.

These hotels will be used to quarantine suspected COVID-19 patients. “Before treating these patients, their swab samples will be collected and sent to labs for examination. Till the reports of samples sent for test arrive, these persons will be housed at the designated hotels,” the BBMP Commissioner said in a notification.

The BBMP is taking several measures to control coronavirus cases as well as prevent them. “If the quarantined persons develop symptoms such as fever, cough or cold, they need to be treated immediately. They will be quarantined at the designated hotels,” the notification said.

The persons with suspected COVID-19 infection will be retained at these hotels for a maximum of two days, the notification said.

While identifying these 17 hotels, the BBMP has stipulated that they should not be having air conditioning system, and it should be disconnected before keeping the suspected persons.