BUSINESS AS USUAL: Hotels, restos downplay coronavirus scare’s impact

By Emme Rose Santiagudo

The services sector in Iloilo City downplayed the impact of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) acute respiratory disease as booking cancellations remained minimal compared to other key cities in the country.

The lloilo Hotel Restaurants & Resorts Association (IHRRA) said booking cancellations in the metro due to canceled flights and trips, which is at 10 percent, has no profound impact on the local economy.

“So far, we are not experiencing that amount of cancellations, the cancellations remained minimal. Indi ganyan kalaki, as of the moment. We are lucky we have been spared and yung impact niya limited in terms of the economy side,” IHRRA spokesperson Happy Abenir said.

IHRRA is composed of 78 members from hotels, restaurants, and resorts located in Iloilo City and its neighboring towns.

Abenir said local tourists have kept the hotel and services industry in the city alive amidst the temporary travel ban on tourists from mainland China.

“We are not really dependent on foreign tourists. Mataas yung ating local tourism, people who come here to take care of business, do investments and check the place out,” she said.

She added that there have been no cancellations of the scheduled events so far.

On Monday, the city government met with the different stakeholders in the city to discuss plans and preparations against the threats of 2019 n-CoV.

Mayor Jerry Treñas said the city government will form a task force that will focus on monitoring hotels and restaurants in the city.

“We want to focus on the hotels and restaurants so that we can perform contact tracing afterward once there are suspected cases of 2019-nCoV that is why we want to form the task force. We will try to make sure that Iloilo City remains 2019-nCov free,” Treñas said Monday.

According to Abenir, they have agreed to follow protocols when handling guests from areas of China, Hong Kong, Singapore and other countries with confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection.

“We have adapted and agreed on handling guests who have symptoms of fever, cough, and not feeling well. First, we will get in touch with the DOH, City Health Office (CHO). Then they will send a team with a doctor and a nurse to monitor and check the patient and they will make certain recommendations,” she said.

Abenir said guests with Chinese passports will follow the same protocols to ensure the safety of the guests and employees of the hotels.

“Whether they hold a Chinese passport or from areas of Hong Kong, Singapore, the protocol is to inform our ODH and CHO that we have a patient. Then, the patient is not transported first not until the recommendation of the CHO and DOH,” she said.

As of February 4, 2020, DOH confirmed that 105 people in the country are under investigation for possible novel coronavirus infection including two confirmed cases.

Of the 105 persons under investigation, 10 are in Western Visayas.