Greater Chennai Corporation said 114 employees working at star hotels in the city have tested positive for the coronavirus so far.
Days after Chennai’s ITC Grand Chola turned out to be a COVID-19 cluster, another star hotel in the city was ordered to suspend all of its scheduled events and meetings immediately after 10% of its staff tested positive for coronavirus. . 20 staff members of the Leela Palace Hotel, in MRC Nagar, tested positive for the virus, after which the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) ordered the sidewalks. The hotel is a prominent location for high-profile business and political meetings in Chennai.
According to data released by GCC on Sunday, a total of 1,623 employees working in star hotels in Chennai have been tested for the virus since December 16. Of the 1,623 employees tested, 114 tested positive for the infection. Similarly, 2,769 staff members working in non-star-rated hotels were also tested since December 16, of whom 11 tested positive for the coronavirus. A total of 125 hotel employees have contracted COVID-19 since December 16 according to data provided by the GCC. Corporation officials have yet to receive the test results of 2,163 employees.
While positive cases of COVID-19 have also emerged in other luxury hotels, none of them are indicative of a group other than ITC Grand Chola and Leela Palace, according to a report. Between December 15 and January 3, 97 samples out of 619 samples tested positive at ITC Grand Chola, while 20 samples out of 232 samples tested at Leela Palace were found to be positive for coronavirus. The corporation will test hotels with banquet halls for events and functions, hostels for working men and women for the next three weeks, as a precaution.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu reported 867 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday. The number of people currently receiving treatment for the infection in the state is 8,127. The state government also reported that 10 people died from COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the total death toll from the disease in Tamil Nadu to 12,156.
.
