Licensed hotels have better hygiene measures

PETALING JAYA: Travellers should stay at a licensed accommodation where good hygiene measures are in place, says the Malaysia Budget and Business Hotel Association.

“We maintain proper SOP at our hotels. For example, we make sure linens are washed daily and we even appoint contractors specifically to wash our linens with chemicals,” said its national president Dr Sri Ganesh Michiel.

He said this in reference to the monkeypox spread seen in a number of countries.

Closer to home, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand are among those that have reported such cases. Singapore has recorded 11 cases so far; Thailand (two) while the Philippines reported its first case on Friday.

Monkeypox is usually spread through skin-to-skin direct contact. Among others, this includes touching fabrics such as linens and towels or surfaces used by the person.Sri Ganesh said the association had urged hoteliers to take hygiene seriously and follow the rules and regulations to ensure no disease could be spread.

He cautioned travellers that checking in at an unlicensed accommodation could put them at risk as these lodgings might not have proper safety measures.

The association called on the Health Ministry and relevant government agencies to have guidelines for hoteliers on containing monkeypox.

“Even though there are guidelines, the problem with unlicensed hotels is that they won’t follow the SOP as they are unregulated.

“If the public stay at licensed hotels at least the government can take action against the operators should anything happen,” he said.

Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) president Christina Toh said hoteliers were strictly adhering to cleanliness and hygiene measures and were working closely with the relevant ministries, especially since the pandemic hit.

“It is typical for our hotels to abide by hygiene and safety measures and with Covid-19, we already have so many guidelines to elevate our hygiene standards,” she said.

“Hotels have a clean and safe audit that is supported and endorsed by the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry and other agencies so that travellers will have a hygienic environment.”

“In fact, a lot of Asean countries are looking at Malaysia for the very good SOP and hygiene practices that we put in place. We, too, work very closely with the Health Ministry,” she said.

More than 19,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported globally. About 70 countries have seen an outbreak although the disease is not endemic there.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the ministry had taken steps to strengthen preventive measures against monkeypox.

This, he said, included sentinel surveillance in several public and private clinics to monitor rash and skin lesion cases, increased lab capacity from two labs to 12 labs and beefing up surveillance measures at international entry points.