Respiratory Viral Infections
(Influenza, Coronavirus (Covid-19),MERS-Cov, SARS, Swine Flu (H1N1)
Summary
Respiratory viruses, once they have infected the host, will multiply in either the upper or lower respiratory tract, leading to classic flu like symptoms. These viruses are zoonotic (have the ability to genetically mutate and cross the species barrier from animals to humans) which explains their ability to generate new or novel viruses that can lead to epidemics and pandemics. While Influenza has a variety of Vaccines to provide protection, Coronaviruses such as MERS-Cov and SARS-Cov do not, leading to difficulties for vulnerable groups such as the elderly, very young and immunocompromised where infection can be fatal. The route to infection is from inhalation of aerosols containing infective viral particles as well as from fomite contact (objects that can carry virus particles) and touching face/mouth/eyes.
Symptoms
Symptoms of many respiratory viruses are often similar to those of seasonal flu and have a wide incubation period depending on the person infected, this can range from 2 days to 2 weeks. Symptoms can include; fever greater than 38oC/1000F, coughing, shortness of breath, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. For more severe cases, this may further develop into severe acute respiratory syndrome and pneumonia.
Development of respiratory infections can be within 2 days of infection and last up to 2 weeks.
Mode of Transmission
Mainly spread via aerosols (airborne) when a person sneezes or coughs.
Enters the body by being inhaled from people sneezing or coughing in close proximity.
Person to person spread by direct contact with an infected person e.g. caring for someone ill,
closefamily members etc. as well as being in prolonged close proximity (6ft) to a symptomatic
individual.
Through contaminated surfaces being touched and then touching your nose/mouth/eyes.
Under the right conditions, some viruses can survive days or even weeks on hard surfaces if not
disinfected thoroughly.
General Precautions
How can you help protect yourself?
There are everyday actions that can help prevent the spread of infection that cause respiratory illnesses. Take these everyday steps to protect your health:
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Observe social distancing. During a respiratory viral pandemic, a 2m/6ft distance between people
is advised, though local codes vary and should be consulted.
Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the
waste bin after you use it.
Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze for at least 20
seconds. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective (content must be greater than 60%
ethanol or 70% isopropanol).
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Virus particles spread this way.
Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
Face masks or face coverings should be worn during a pandemic. Comply with relevant brand
standards relating to face masks and coverings. Consult local codes as requirements may differ by
country. Face masks do not generally protect you from respiratory viruses, however take note of
local authority guidance.
What steps can your hotel take to help limit exposure to respiratory viruses?
Educate your Team. Get your Team Members together to discuss hotel procedures and
precautions. Make sure they get the most updated information and are taking the necessary
precautions to protect themselves and your guests.
Clean and disinfect thoroughly and regularly. Appendix 1 offers guidelines for cleaning and
disinfection.
According to research, some viruses can live up to 72 hours on hard surfaces. Encourage your
hotel teams to spend extra time disinfecting hand contact surfaces such as, tables, doorknobs,
desks, railings, elevator buttons, remote controls, telephones, keyboards, mice and light
switches.
Keep tissues and alcohol-based hand sanitisers in convenient locations for guest and Team
Member use, such as the front desk, breakfast area and Team Member break areas.
Team Members with any flu-like or respiratory symptoms should not report to work, in order to
limit contact with others and spreading the virus.
Vaccination
Some respiratory viral infections currently do not have a vaccine e.g. Covid-19, MERS-Cov, SARSCov.
Team Members Showing Symptoms at Work?
Educate every Team Member in your Hotel about respiratory viruses and their symptoms. Make sure your Team Members know to notify their Department Manager or Manager on Duty immediately if they feel they may have symptoms.
Below are the recommended steps to take if a Team Member shows symptoms of respiratory viruses:
As with any other personal illnesses, relieve the Team Member of their duties at the Hotel. If possible find a room or area where they can be isolated behind a closed door, such as a staff office. If it is possible to open a window, do so for ventilation. Encourage the Team Member to call their Doctor, the local health department or other health care professional immediately. They should avoid touching people, surfaces and objects and be advised to cover their mouth and nose with a disposable tissue when they cough or sneeze and put the tissue in a bag or pocket then throw the tissue in the bin. If they don’t have any tissues available, they should cough and sneeze into the crook of their elbow. If they need to go to the bathroom whilst waiting for medical assistance, they should use a separate bathroom if available.
Prepare to execute the Hotels site crisis procedures should further Team Members or guests
show signs of illness
Share the tips below with the Team Member.
Tips for Team Members with Flu like or respiratory symptoms:
Do not go to work.
Avoid travel and crowded areas.
Take precautionary measures in case you do have a respiratory virus. Get extra rest and drink
plenty of water.
If you experience muscle pain, cough and a fever greater than 38C/100F, call your Doctor. Do not visit the healthcare facility until you have consulted with your doctor via the telephone. Follow your Doctor’s recommendations about treatment.
If you are quarantined (told to remain in your house and to avoid contact with the outside world) by your Doctor or the local authorities, call or email your Department Manager/General Manager and let them know. Make every effort to comply with all home quarantine requirements.
Inform all people you’ve been in contact with during the previous three days about your condition via phone, email or text so they can understand their risk of exposure.
Team Member Illness
Follow your hotel’s established policies and procedures with respect to Team Members who appear or identify themselves as being ill. Recommended procedures are as follows:
Exclude Team Members from work if they feel unwell and present with flu like/respiratory symptoms. Some health authorities may not swab to make positive diagnosis of individual viruses.
Allow Team Members to return to work when symptoms have subsided and/or have presented a medical note confirming fitness to work.
When informed of symptomatic Team Members, or those confirmed positive for Influenza/Coronavirus, disinfection of back of house areas including staff changing contact surfaces should commence using an approved anti-viral disinfectant. See appendix 1 for details.
Vulnerable Team Members
It is recommended that you advise any Team Members to seek medical advice from their Doctor if they are concerned, ensuring the Hotel’s Human Resources Department are informed.
Guest Reports Symptoms of Coronavirus
Below are the recommended procedures if a guest reports symptoms:
Inform the management of the situation.
Try to separate the guest from other Hotel guests as much as possible.
Encourage the guest to contact their Doctor immediately or contact a local medical centre for
advice.
Follow the advice you receive from your local health department, including the department’s
recommendations for dealing with the potentially infected guest.
Do not transport the guest to any other location unless directed to by a medical advisor/Doctor.
If an infected guest checks out and the local authority is not decontaminating the room, following the general procedures detailed in appendix 1. The room must be left vacant and double locked for 72 hours after departure before entering the room.
If the guest leaves the property, but other guests remain in the same guest’s hotel room, encourage these guests to contact their own Doctor immediately for advice. Do not allow any Hotel Team Members to enter the room until it has been decontaminated by the trained Housekeeping staff or Local Authority.
Document the details of each action taken for follow-up. Decontamination of an Infected Guest Room. The following precautions should be considered regarding cleaning, laundry and waste disposal:
The room must be left vacant and double locked for 72 hours after departure before entering the room.
While wearing disposable vinyl gloves, aprons and, where required by local regulations or health authority guidance, masks, throw away tissues and other disposable items used by the guest in the waste bin. After removing the gloves, wash your hands with hot soapy water and thoroughly dry.
Where possible, open windows to increase airflow.
Keep surfaces (especially bedside tables and surfaces in the bathroom) clean by wiping them down with an approved anti-viral disinfectant according to directions on the product label.
Linen, eating utensils, and dishes belonging to those who are ill do not need to be cleaned separately, but importantly these items should not be used again without disinfecting thoroughly first.
Wash linen on a hot wash and tumble dry on a hot setting. Avoid “hugging” laundry prior to washing it o prevent contaminating yourself. After wearing disposable vinyl gloves, aprons and, where required by local regulations or health authority guidance, masks, wash your hands with soap and water and apply alcohol-based hand gel where available, immediately after handling dirty laundry.
Engineering should replace the fan coil unit filters and disinfect louvres
Once the room is fully cleaned and decontaminated, disinfect any cleaning equipment used. It is recommended Guest rooms should not be cleaned if the guest is still in the room and symptomatic. If the guest insists on fresh linen, we can provide this, however these will be left for the guest to use themselves.
General Cleaning and Disinfection Advice
The chemical of choice will be an approved anti-viral disinfectant. Please contact your local approved chemical supplier representative to ask for advice on obtaining this product as local laws differ on chemical types to be used.
Cleaning and disinfection is important and the following hand contact surfaces should be
included:
Door/ handles;
Bathroom surfaces;
Toilet, bidet and all bath/tap handles;
Reception desks and handrails; and
Telephones, computer equipment including keyboards and mice.
Elevator buttons;
TV remote controls, minibar and safe doors
For public area disinfection, it is recommended that this should be undertaken twice a day and can be achieved using current public area Team Members. For public toilet cleaning, the standard chemical is to be replaced with the anti-viral disinfectant and clean as normal as part of the standard procedures.
Please note anti-viral disinfectant is not to be used in the kitchens for food surface disinfection.
Please continue to use your nominated food grade sanitiser.
Alcohol Hand Gel
According to the OMS, the best way to prevent the spread of infections and decrease the risk of getting sick is by washing your hands with plain soap and water. Washing hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds is essential, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after coughing, sneezing, or blowing one’s nose. If soap and water are not available, OMS recommends consumers use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% ethanol or 70% isopropynol. Hotels should have a wall-mounted dispenser by back of house areas, staff change areas and by all hand wash basins. Alternatively pump dosing bottles may be used. If your Hotel has a positive case of Coronavirus either from a guest or Team Member, or has been advised by the local health authorities that there is a local outbreak, then place the alcohol dispensers in the following locations as a minimum precaution:
Front reception
Male, female and disabled public & staff toilets
Entry to all F&B outlets (Restaurant, Bar)
Entrance to function room corridor/large function suite
Hotel shuttle buses, e.g. airport/city center transfers
Above each, place a laminated sign with the following wording for guests:
Alcohol Hand Gel Please Sanitise your Hands Here
Room Service Delivery
As the guest should not be permitted to use any of our F&B outlets we will still offer an in-room dining service. In these cases it is not appropriate to add a tray charge. On delivering the food, the guest should sign the ticket as normal, do not provide a receipt wallet and leave the pen in the room. The room service attendant must sanitise their hands with alcohol gel on leaving the room but not in front of the guest.
Room service trays should be disinfected with anti-viral disinfectant on collection from the room, portable tables sprayed. Linen covers for room service trays should not be used. Provide condiment sachets instead of reusable containers.
Other Considerations
Let your guests know that you are being kept informed and being proactive about respiratory viruses.
Discretion is encouraged. We want our guests to know that we support them as they make their travel decisions.
Reporting
Contact local healthcare facility to provide transportation of person to medical facility
Respiratory Viral Infection Cleaning and Disinfection Plan
Recommended Room Decontamination Procedure
Recommended procedure for decontamination of a room which has been occupied by infected
guests or Team Members after check-out.
Leave the room vacant and double locked for 72 hours after departure before entering the room and before the following procedures.
PPE to be worn:
Disposable apron
Disposable gloves
Masks (where required by local regulations or health authority guidance)
1. Open the windows to allow fresh air to enter
2. Strip bed, place all linen and pillow cases in soluble linen bags and seal the bags.
3. Remove shower curtain (if material) and bath mat, place in soluble linen bags and seal for
laundering.
4. Discard all disposable items e.g. menus, toiletries, toilet roll etc., seal in bin bags
removed and put through the commercial dishwasher.
5. Decontaminate all hard surfaces i.e. chairs and table tops, window frames, dressing tables,
bedside tables, wardrobes, telephones, remote controls, door handles, light switches, in room
safe, kettle, iron and headboards (if applicable) with anti-viral disinfectant.
6. Ensure the minibar is cleaned i.e. remove items and clean with anti-viral disinfectant.
7. Decontaminate all areas within the bathroom such as the air vents, inside surface of taps,
shower heads, handles, towel rails, waste bins and around the cistern of the toilet using a
disposable cloth and Anti-viral disinfectant.
8. Mop the bathroom with a mop and bucket (preferably colour coded).
9. The bathroom should then be cleaned as for normal changeover
10. Engineering should replace bedroom fan coil unit filters and disinfect louvres
11. All cloths, gloves, aprons, and where worn, masks, should be placed in yellow clinical waste
bags after use in each room, sealed and disposed of.
Use Cleaning Schedule – Room Decontamination for each affected room.
Back of House Decontamination Procedure for Confirmed Positive Team Member
Personal Protective Equipment to be worn:
Disposable apron
Disposable gloves
Masks (where required by local regulations or health authority guidance)
When informed of symptomatic Team Members, or those confirmed positive for Coronavirus, disinfection must take place of back of house areas, including staff changing/toilet areas, staircase handrails, and other areas where the Team Member works and socialises. Contact surfaces disinfection shouldcommence using an approved anti-viral disinfectant.
Recommended Cleaning and Disinfection Procedure for Hotel
All hand contact surfaces in Front of House and Back of House need to be cleaned and disinfected
every 2-4 hours.
PPE to be worn:
Disposable apron
Disposable gloves
Masks (where required by local regulations or health authority guidance)
1. Door handles and door plates
2. Stair banisters
3. Reception desks and pens
4. Public computers and public telephones
5. Electrical and light switches
6. Toilet flushers, taps, door handles and door plates, hand dryers, toilet paper holders and toilets brush handles.
List all the areas in the hotel that will need cleaning and disinfecting e.g. reception, staff changing rooms, back ofhouse corridors. Ensure these areas are cleaned and disinfected every 2-4 hours.
The Cleaning schedule – All Contact Surfaces can be used to record this.
Recommended Toilet Cleaning and Disinfection Procedure
All public and staff toilets should be cleaned every hour using the normal procedure and PPE as advised above, plus anti-viral disinfectant should be used on all hand contact surfaces. The Cleaning Schedule – Toilets can be used to record the hourly cleaning and disinfection of toilets
