Da Nang tourism officials are calling on operators of serviced accommodation establisments to take action to shield and protect their staff and guests from the deadly virus by sticking to COVID-19 rules with a focus on following the 5K recommendations of the Ministry of Health.

A female guest fills in a COVID-19 medical declaration form at the reception hall of Four Points by Sheraton Danang Hotel located in Son Tra District. (Picture was taken in April 2021). Photo: QUYNH TRANG

Most hotels in Da Nang stands empty and desolate due to COVID-19. However, we have observed that all serviced accommodation establishments are putting in place strictest infection prevention and control measures and surveillance for coronavirus disease. Posters carrying the Ministry of Health’s 5K recommendations, namely Face Masks - Disinfection – Social Distance - Do not gather - Medical declaration, are displayed at guest reception areas and and service areas in hotels.

For example, Yen Vy Hotel located on at 26, An Thuong 34, Ngu Hanh Son District, has been empty for more than 2 months but it still conducts best practice in strict compliance with advice and guidance on infection prevention and control from the Ministry of Health. Antiseptic disinfectant liquid and face mask boxes are available for use at the lobby and reception desk. The hotel receptionists are required to not in close contact with guests, and only allow guests to make hotel check-in procedures after they display their health QR code.

In a similar move, at Four Points by Sheraton Danang Hotel on Vo Nguyen Giap Street, Son Tra District, medical masks are available for use in the restaurant, the bar counter, and lobby. In addition, antiseptic disinfectant liquid are placed in all public areas within the hotel. Four Points by Sheraton Danang is also equipped with an electrostatic sprayer which is used to clean and disinfect high frequency contact surfaces, such as reception desks, elevator control panels, and door handles.

All menus at the restaurant and bars in the hotel are disinfected after each use. Besides, room key cards and pens are also cleaned and sanitized at the end of each shift. In addition, a notice board reminding everyone to maintain a distance of at least 2m from others is placed in the hotel's lobby in addition to floor marking for social distancing. Besides, the focus is paid on maintaining a distance of at least one metre between tables at the restaurants and bars in the hotel.

"Coronavirus is causing hotel business to plummet because there have been a few visitors to Da Nang over the past two months. It is also far more difficult for hotels to maintain operations in these challenging times. However, I believe that Da Nang, and Viet Nam as a whole, is on right track in the fight against COVID-19, and it will sucessfully suppress the virus to drive the economic recovery as it has done in the previous coronavirus waves. I am so proud to tell my friends about Viet Nam's effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic." Mr. Stefano Maccagno, the Director General at Four Points by Sheraton said.

Over recent months, the tourism industry has enforced COVID-19 rules across the city to make sure that serviced accommodation establishments, transport services, travel agencies, and tourist sites fully adhere to the muncipal-government- recommended protocols on Safety and Prevention against COVID-19 and the 5K recommendations of the Ministry of Health.

Especially,  the tourist accommodation establishments must increase checks on their guests upon arrival to ensure that they fill in a mandatory COVID -19  health delaration form either on paper or online at Khaibaoyte.danang.gov.vn within 2 days of arrival. Hotels only accept their guests who provide true and accurate information in health form with their contact details and their places of residence.

Deputy Director of the Department of Tourism Nguyen Xuan Binh said: "Amid the complex developments of the pandemic,  the department on June 29, asked tourist sites and serviced accommodation establishments to strengthen prevention measures to slow the spread of the virus and make sure that each guest is sticking to the COVID-19 protocols to keep themselves and others safe or face hash punishments for non-adherence. In addition, strong enforcement of COVID-19 regulations is needed, and strictest penalties will be inposed on non-compliant establishments.Tourists and tourist guest house operators should bear the responsibility for ensuring stringent compliance with COVID-19 protocols to tackle the possible spread of the virus as well as bear full responsibility for COVID-19 transmissions".

Reporting by QUYNH TRANG – Translating by H.L