While the majority of people have abided by safe distancing measures since the ‘Circuit Breaker’ all the way to the eve of Phase 3, there remain cases of large gatherings discovered by authorities.
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said in a statement that they made 2 Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) hotels – the Beach Villas and Equarius Hotel – suspend new bookings for a month.
Both hotels cannot accept new bookings from 22 Dec to 21 Jan 2021. They can still fulfil bookings already made though.
This was after STB found large gatherings in these hotels – ranging between groups of 15 and 16.
Only up to 5 individuals are allowed in guest rooms, unless everyone is from the same household.
There was no entry screening or SafeEntry implemented.
STB explained the 2 RWS hotels’ offences in a statement on 22 Dec.
Enforcement officers found that at least 15 people had gathered in a 2-storey villa in Beach Villas on 10 Oct.
The villa was booked under 4 individuals and only 4 people were registered guests at the hotel.
STB also found that the hotel neither had entry screening for these people, nor did they implement SafeEntry for contact tracing purposes.
Guests and visitors must be screened and have their temperature taken before entering any hotel or hostel.
Businesses must also implement SafeEntry for both employees and visitors.
On 17 Nov, there was a gathering of 16 people in an Equarius Hotel guest room.
STB said that Equarius Hotel failed to prevent this gathering from occurring — the room was booked by 3 individuals.
Equarius Hotel had failed to have staff at entry points for SafeEntry and temperature-taking purposes.
They also didn’t ensure that there weren’t more than 5 people gathered in the same room.
STB said that both hotels and the people involved are the subject of further investigations for breaching measures.
It’s unfortunate that there are still large gatherings going on while the majority of people have worked hard to keep gatherings below 5.
Such efforts hinder contact tracing efforts and may result in new clusters if not found soon enough.
During this time of staycations and the festive season, it’s more important than ever that hotels and hostels ensure that guests are keeping with safe distancing measures.
We wouldn’t want new clusters to form as a result of negligence or breaches.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at hello@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Resorts World Sentosa and Google Hotels.
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