Singapore's first Wuhan virus case: Sentosa hotel sanitises rooms where patient, companions stayed

SINGAPORE - All the rooms at the Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa Hotel where Singapore's first Wuhan virus confirmed case and his travelling companions stayed in have been sanitised and sealed off.

Four staff members that came into contact with the infected patient have also been told to stay at home since Wednesday (Jan 22), the hotel said on Thursday night.

Shangri-La Group's executive vice-president of operations in South-east Asia and Australasia Josef Dolp said that all four are currently well and have so far not displayed any symptoms of the virus.

He said: "The rooms which the guests had stayed in were thoroughly disinfected and sanitised after the guests had checked out.

"We will continue to remain vigilant and will assist the health authorities with their investigations and contact tracing efforts."

The infected guest, a 66-year-old Wuhan native, had checked into the hotel with his family on Monday, Mr Dolp said.

He had reported sick on Wednesday, before getting warded.

The hotel then got in touch with its staff to trace who had come into contact with the man, said Mr Dolp.

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Mr Dolp added that the hotel has increased its cleaning and sanitising frequency in the last few weeks since news of the Wuhan virus broke. Temperature checks are also in place for staff and guests.

When The Straits Times went to the hotel on Thursday evening, many of its staff were using surgical masks. Masks were also made available to guests.

Several guests, including Mr Kelvin Yu, were requesting for a hotel switch at the reception desk.

They told ST that the hotel has agreed to help them find rooms at another hotel for the evening.

One of the guests, a retired business owner from Shanghai, who only wanted to be known as Madam Zhang, 64, said she does not dare enter any of the rooms in the hotel.

"We don't know whether it's the room where the patient stayed before" she said.

Mr Dolp said guests who wanted to cancel their reservations can do so without incurring any penalty charges. They will also be refunded.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.