Rasa Sentosa hotel room where patient with Wuhan virus stayed has been disinfected and sealed

SINGAPORE — Even before Singapore confirmed its first imported case of the Wuhan virus, the hotel room in Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa where the patient stayed was disinfected and sanitised after he went to the hospital. The room has also been sealed.  

Speaking to the media on Thursday night (Jan 23) hours after a media briefing by the Ministry of Health (MOH), Mr Josef Dolp, the executive vice-president of operations for Southeast Asia and Australasia of Shangri-La Group, also said that the four hotel employees who cleaned the man’s room and served the guests have been isolated.

The 66-year-old man, who lives in Wuhan, arrived in Singapore from Guangzhou on Monday night and was travelling with nine other companions.

He stayed at Rasa Sentosa until Wednesday and during this period, he fell ill and notified the hotel’s staff members.  

He went by taxi to the Singapore General Hospital on Wednesday and has been isolated after he was admitted. 

The hotel had put in place precautionary measures even before Jan 20, the day that the man checked into the hotel. 

Mr Dolp said of what happened after the man left for the hospital: “We isolated our staff and we asked them to stay at home and wear masks and wait for the result.”

On Thursday evening, the man tested positive for the new coronavirus that has killed 17 in China and infected hundreds in other countries, with cases reported in Japan, South Korea Taiwan, Thailand and the United States. The latest country after Singapore to confirm its first case is Vietnam. 

CONTRACT TRACING

With the results confirmed, Mr Dolp said that the Government is aware of the identities of the four isolated hotel employees and their conditions are being monitored by the Government as well. 

The hotel will support MOH’s efforts in contact tracing beyond the four workers, through the use of surveillance footage and so forth, he added. 

In recent weeks, due to the growing threat of the virus which causes fever, pneumonia and other flu-like symptoms, Mr Dolp said that the hotel has been taking more precautionary measures. After guests have checked out, the rooms have been thoroughly disinfected and sanitised.

“We have increased our cleaning and sanitising frequency of guest rooms, hotel facilities and all public areas. Temperature checks are in place for our guests and colleagues. 

“We have also reminded our staff to practise strict hygiene habits at all times, to stay at home if they are not feeling well and to seek medical attention immediately if they believe they have some symptoms suggestive of respiratory illness,” he added. 

Mr Dolp said that they will work with other hotel guests who might have concerns about transmission. 

“We will, of course, install information desks… we will address questions the guests have. We will also, if they want to move, help them to move.”

The authorities in China confirmed a few days ago that the coronavirus could be transmitted from human to human. 

Coronaviruses are transmitted between animals and people. In rare cases, they evolve and spread from human to human.

The new virus, known as 2019-nCoV, is a strain that has not been previously identified in humans.

It is in the same family as the ones that caused the Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers), as well as the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) outbreak which killed almost 800 people worldwide from 2002 to 2003, including 33 in Singapore.

The Sars virus was transmitted from civet cats to humans and the one causing Mers was from one-hump camels to humans.

To date, the source of the new virus has not yet been established.