‘No samples, screening or safety gear given’
Udaipur : The RTDC staff working at Kajri Hotel are at high risk of getting inflicted of the virus after a male nurse was found positive a day ago. Surprisingly, more than 30 hours after the report came, neither the district administration, nor the medical department was considerate enough to collect their samples conduct the screening. Even surprising was to know that the hotel staff have no accommodation at the hotel itself and all of them live in rented places in and around the city who have been returning to their homes without being medically scanned.
According to sources, Hotel Kajri situated at Shastri Circle was acquired by the administration as institutional quarantine facility for the medical staff of the MB government hospital assigned duty at the corona ward. Of the 63 rooms here, 55 rooms were acquired on March 29 and since past 50 days, around 15 hotel staff and three casuals have been attending the guests here. They have been cleaning the rooms and common area, changing linen frequently and extending hospitality.
Three of the medical staff who had stayed here were tested positive after they checked out from the hotel and on Sunday, a 30-year-old male nurse was found positive who was taken from the hotel room and admitted to the corona ward at around 11 am. Had it been in some residential colony, the entire area would have been sealed and close contacts of the positive case would have been quarantined too, but surprisingly, the Kajri staff continued to work like ordinary times. Even curfew was not imposed in the area which is the norm being observed everywhere.
” The only protocol followed was that the room , which was occupied by the positive found nurse, was sanitised and locked while some 38 people continue to occupy other rooms. The hotel compound, common area and rooms were sanitized but samples of the hotel staff has not even once be taken in all these 50 days. Many of the staff are above 50 years age who are given no weekly off and even their salaries are not being paid regularly.” The hotel staff is at severe risk of being infected as they are in direct touch with the medical staff staying there.
Though the hotel is turned to a quarantine facility, however, many of the medical staff are called to work, they daily go to the corona ward for duty in shifts and come back as they are not allowed to go to their homes. Such people are at high risk and in turn may prove risky for the hotel staff who have been serving them continuously” sources said. The hotel staff is also made to wash the linen since the washerman refused to take the clothes after it was turned into a quarantine facility. When approached for a comment, Dr Rahul Jain, incharge of the quarantine facility for medical staff, said ” We are shifting the medical staff to another hotel. Some of them have already been taken while the remaining one would be shifted soon”.
However, it was known that the medical staff had not checked out till late monday evening. Sunil Mathur, the Manager of Kajri hotel refused to give details about the occupants and said that he was out on tour to Dungarpur. Dr Ashok Aditya, incharge of the containment zone said the guidelines are different for the quarantine facility and for public places. When a positive case is found in some quarantine facility, there is no requirement to turn it into containment zone as no one is going out of the building.