Hotels for quarantine
View(s):The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has taken over the operations of the Club Dolphin Hotel in Waikkal run by the Hemas group converting it to a quarantine centre.
The hotel was among two others that were offered to the government in order to meet the requirements of the necessary number of quarantine centres and provide space for medical staff to stay in.
No guest is staying at the hotel. In this respect, the medical staff of the Negombo hospitals that required to be quarantined for a period of 14 days have been sent to the Club Dolphin since March 30, military spokesman Brig. Chandana Wickramasinghe told the Business Times. He noted that there are 11 medical staff staying at this location that require quarantine.
In the meantime, Citrus Waskaduwa and Trinco Blu though offered to be used as quarantine centres have not yet been taken over. In the meantime, the city hotels continue to operate under the current curfew norms but some have continued to remain open with at least one of their food outlets serving those working during curfew hours, City Hotels President M. Shanthikumar said.
Cinnamon Hotels have stopped accepting bookings until April 30 in view of the current curfew in place in the country but staff is working within the premises on a rotation basis taking care of other work, said JKH Vice President and Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts Head of Brand Marketing Dileep Mudadeniya.
Mt. Lavinia Hotel is also closed for operations with only its core staff carrying out the regular maintenance of the hotel. Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka President Sanath Ukwatte said that the government has put forward a package and further assistance for the hotel sector is being sought under the circumstances. (SD)