Six Taj hotel employees test positive for coronavirus

• At least six employees working atthe iconic Taj Mahal Palace and Towers hotel in south Mumbaihave tested positive for coronavirus.
• Apart from Taj Palace at Colaba, it also runs TajLands End at Bandra, Vivanta President at Cuffe Parade, andTaj Santacruz.
  
• The iconic Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel of thecompany in south Mumbai does not have any guests at presentand only minimal staff are present to ensure upkeep of theproperty, it said.
  

At least six employees working atthe iconic Taj Mahal Palace and Towers hotel in south Mumbaihave tested positive for coronavirus, a doctor attached to aprivate hospital said on Saturday.Indian Hotels Company, which runs the Taj Hotel chain,confirmed that some of its employees have been found positivefor virus, but did not specify the number.

The company has been hosting, at its hotels in thecity, doctors and health workers from various state-runhospitals treating coronavirus cases and also those renderingother emergency services.

Apart from Taj Palace at Colaba, it also runs TajLands End at Bandra, Vivanta President at Cuffe Parade, andTaj Santacruz.

"Six Taj hotel employees are being treated at BombayHospital and they tested positive to COVID-19. They arerecovering and their condition is stable now," Dr GautamBhansali, consulting physician at Bombay Hospital, said.

Without specifying the number of infected employees,the company said in a statement that most of them were"asymptomatic showing absolutely no signs of illness" and thatthe employees were tested proactively.

"However, staff testing positive and symptomatic wereduly hospitalized and others who were in contact with themhave immediately been put in quarantine," the companystatement said.

The iconic Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel of thecompany in south Mumbai does not have any guests at presentand only minimal staff are present to ensure upkeep of theproperty, it said.

When contacted, a senior official of the BrihanmumbaiMunicipal Corporation could not give any information as to howthe civic body was treating the IHC properties where stafftested positive. In some cases the BMC declares the buildingwhere patients are found and areas around it as "containmentzones".

The civic body official only said that three peoplehad tested positive last week. Dr Bhansali said two of thepatients were admitted on Saturday, while the rest had comeearlier.

A doctor working for the civic body said last weekthey were accommodated in Taj Palace Colaba and later shiftedto Tak Lands End in Bandra.

Asserting that all of its staffers found positive arefrom Taj Colaba, an IHC official said the property overlookingthe famous Gateway of India monument has been completelysanitised and there is no one going in or out. AA KKKRK KRK