Dragonfly Villas taking into account the instructions of the Ministry of Tourism for the implementation of new health protocols in tourist accommodation in the country, in view of their reopening, in the context of the new reality created by Covid-19 disease, is compiling a Protocol.
The Protocol includes the development of an Action Plan and that of a Suspected Case Management Plan within the Group’s accommodation.
The aim of the Action Plan is to prevent the occurrence, and the effective management, of suspicious cases, in order to limit the spread in the staff and guests, always in accordance with the current guidelines of the National Public Health Organization. The Action Plan complies with the recommendations of NPHO, and it will be revised according to the developments.
The aim of the hotel with the Action Plan and the Suspected Case Management Plan is, on the one hand, to protect the staff and its guests, and on the other hand, to guide its staff to take the necessary measures to prevent and protect against Covid-19 disease.
Accommodation archive and Incident reports
- For the purposes of public health protection actions, the accommodation management keeps a record of the staff members and all persons staying at the hotel (name, nationality, date of arrival and departure, contact details such as address, telephone, e-mail), so to make communication possible with close contacts in the event of a COVID-19 case, which may be identified afterwards.
- There is requisite attention and safety in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and all visitors and staff are informed that a file is kept for reasons of public health protection.
- There is also a recording and updating of the roster and incident reports.
Employees
Each member of the hotel staff strictly adheres to the basic protection measures against Covid-19. Specifically, employees must apply good personal and respiratory hygiene practices:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 40 seconds, definitely before and after contact with money or customer items, before eating, before and after a break, after going to the toilet and careful hand drying with disposable hand towels and dumping them in the bin. Alternatively, use alcohol-based antiseptics with at least 60% ethyl alcohol or 70% isopropyl alcohol.
- Cover the nose and mouth during coughing or sneezing with a tissue / alternatively if this is not available, cover the mouth with the inside part of your elbow.
- Dumping of paper towels, or other personal hygiene items or products used to disinfect surfaces in the workplace, in a closed bin.
- Avoid handshakes, and generally close physical contact, keep a distance of at least one and a half to two meters from your colleagues, customers or third parties in all workplaces, hotel rooms and rest areas.
- Avoid touching the front of the mask or face shield.
- Avoid touching your face with your hands.
- Inform a health official in case of illness or symptoms compatible with Covid-19 infection, or contact with a possible or confirmed case, and removal from the workplace.
- Stay at home in case of illness, and inform a health official.
- Return to work only if the lab test is negative, and 14 days after close contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19.
Measures and means of personal hygiene
- Informing and encouraging staff and third parties to comply with good personal and respiratory hygiene practices.
- Provision of appropriate facilities and required materials to employees, and installation of antiseptics for the hands at the entrances / exits, and in the public areas of the accommodation.
- Providing staff of appropriate Personal Protective Equipment.
- Supervision of the adequacy of supplies of Personal Protective Equipment.
- Training of personnel for the safe use of Personal Protective Equipment and supervision of their proper use.
- Informing and training staff on the COVID-19 suspected case management plan.
- Supervise the attendance of third parties (e.g. customers, associates, distributors, etc.) at the accommodation, and inform them in order to avoid overcrowding, to ensure the observance of the required distances and to use the Personal Protective Equipment.
- Formation of a program for gradual attendance / departure of employees in order to avoid congestion and to ensure the observance of the required distances.
- Continuous information of staff for personal hygiene and preventive measures in all areas.
- Training in the required actions of employees in case of development of suspicious symptoms, such as the immediate notification of the health official and the Administration, for the prevention of the spread of Covid-19 and the planned quarantine containment.
- Frequent hand washing with soap and water.
- Disposal of media used to disinfect work surfaces in a closed bin.
- Disposal of the equipment you used to disinfect the surfaces of the workplace in a closed trash can.
- Avoid handshakes and generally close physical contact, keeping a distance of at least two meters from colleagues, customers or third parties in all workplaces, hotel rooms and rest areas.
- Avoid touching your face with your hands, more specifically eyes, nose and mouth.
- Informing the health official, in case of illness or symptoms compatible with Covid-19 infection, or contact with a possible or confirmed case, and removal from the workplace.
- Stay at home in case of illness and inform the health official.
- Return to work only if the lab test is negative, and 14 days after close contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19.
Reception service
- The staff takes the necessary hygiene measures (hand washing), keeps a distance of at least one meter from customers (avoidance of handshakes, etc.) and follows the rules of hygiene.
- When requested, there is a possibility of:
- Informing visitors about the policy of the accommodation and the measures it has taken to deal with any incidents
- Providing useful information for health-care providers, public and private hospitals, reference hospitals for COVID-19 and pharmacies in the area and
- Providing of Personal Protective Equipment.
- Special equipment (medical kit) for the occurrence of an incident, such as gloves and disposable masks, antiseptics, cleaning wipes, medical apron, long-sleeved medical robe, infrared thermometer.
- Personnel can recognize customer symptoms and report them directly to the health official.
- There is an antiseptic for the customers in the reception.
- Regular disinfection of the reception surfaces.
- Proper configuration of the reception, addition of floor marking, at a distance of two meters, where the customer will stand, proper marking of distances in the waiting area, proper arrangement of furniture and proper management of people waiting to be served, in order to reduce waiting time, and maintaining safe distances.
- Avoid overcrowding during check-in / check-out, maintaining safe distances.
- Ability to check-in, one day before the arrival, via e-mail, and to check-out in the same way to avoid overcrowding and keeping physical distance. Credit card deposit in a special box for use by the receptionist. Provide antiseptic for disinfection after use.
- Electronic payment of accommodation expenses, electronic sending of bills, invoices and receipts.
- Disinfection of key cards
- Extending the period between check-in and check-out. Check out until 11:00 am, and check-in from 15:00 pm. During the time between each check-in and check-out between different customers, the room is cleaned, thoroughly disinfected and adequately ventilated naturally.
Floor & room services
- The cleaning staff uses a simple surgical mask, gloves and a disposable waterproof robe.
- After removing the PPE, it is necessary to wash your hands, thoroughly, with soap and water and to dispose them in a closed bin.
- All hard surfaces, floors, chairs, knobs, etc. are cleaned and disinfected with disposable cloths/fabrics or cleaning paper and detachable sponges.
- Discarded equipment is treated as a possible infected material, and it’s discarded in special bags.
- Sodium hypochlorite 0.1% is used after cleaning with a neutral detergent. For surfaces that are likely to be damaged by the use of sodium hypochlorite, it is necessary to use ethanol at a concentration of 70% after cleaning with a neutral detergent. Our company uses biocides certified liquids as an extra protection measure for the safest work of the staff and the stay of the customers. A partner company is SantoPaper, which has many years of experience in the field and is the largest company in this field.
- When using disinfectants, the space is well ventilated.
- Hygiene services are being strengthened in all public areas, especially in “high risk” facilities.
- Thorough cleaning and room ventilation are applied during the hours between the stays.
- The adequacy of personnel’s PPE (gloves, masks, robe, closed shoes, etc.) is checked.
- There is discreet monitoring by Customer Administration for symptom management.
- Non-frequent room cleaning during the stay (avoid contact of cleaning staff with possible case and further transmission).
- The daily change of apparel, towels and night preparation of the room (turn down service) is abolished. The customer is served only upon request, upon arrival.
- For departures, meticulous disinfection is applied to the rooms and bathrooms in question.
- Decorative items (pillows, bedding, etc.) are removed after the first date of the customer arrival to be cleaned for next guests.
- Commonly reusable items, such as menus, magazines, etc. are removed.
- Opening doors and windows for natural ventilation of the space, daily.
- Marking is provided, aiming to inform the customer about when and how the room was cleaned.
Public spaces
Public spaces including lobby, lounges, outdoor seating areas, apply the following measures:
- Good ventilation of public spaces.
- Placing of antiseptic solutions (still or moving devices) for hand disinfection.
- A marking to remind customers to keep their distance.
- Removal of decorative and common reusable objects.
- Cleaning and disinfection of all surfaces.
- Marking
Air conditioning and space ventilation
- Increasing the supply of fresh air to all Air Handling Units (AHU).
- Avoid air-recirculation.
- Continuous operation of AHU (24/7), even if the sector they supply is not operating, to avoid multiplication of microorganisms.
- Ensure adequate ventilation of all areas with fresh air.
- Split units are turn off where possible, or, when this is not possible, they are put into continuous operation 24/7 in parallel with natural ventilation.
- The replacement of filters for AHU and split units will be done according to the scheduled maintenance, and the work will be performed using and taking all the protective measures (PPE, space ventilation, safe collection of the replaced filters) including respiratory protection.
Environmental measures
Environmental measures to reduce the spread of the virus include:
- Adequate ventilation of workplaces and regular maintenance of ventilation – air conditioning systems.
- Regular cleaning with detergents or disinfectants on the surfaces of workplaces, public areas and work equipment.
- Disinfection, according to the instructions of NPHO, areas where a possible or confirmed case of Covid-19 infection has been identified.
- Disposal and installation of closed trash bins, where disposable Personal Protective Equipment or other means used to disinfect work surfaces, as well as personal hygiene items, shall be disposed of immediately after use.
- Frequent cleaning of work clothes and the usual personal protective equipment provided, as well as their safe storage.
Covid-19 Suspected Case Management Plan
If a visitor meets the Covid19 case definition criteria, the following are applied:
- The health official of the hotel communicates directly with NPHO for a statement of the suspected case, and instructions for dealing with it.
- It is recommended, in the suspected case, to remain in his/her room with the door closed.
- In a patient who has symptoms of a respiratory infection (cough, sneezing, catarrh), a simple surgical mask and tissues are given immediately.
- If there is a companion of the patient who wishes to stay close and care for him/her, a simple surgical mask is given, and is advised to wash his/her hands every time he/she comes in contact with the patient’s secretions, and certainly before the attendant touches his/her face, or before eating or drinking.
- It is advisable to avoid entering the patient’s room if there is no significant reason. If necessary, a member of the hotel staff deals exclusively with the case using COVID 19 jumpsuit.
- Used protective equipment is discarded in a closed trash bin, and is not reused.
- After disposing the protective equipment, hand washing follows.
- The Management ensures that there is adequate consumable material directly available to the hotel staff to prevent infections: soap and water or alcohol-based hand washing solution, tissues, simple surgical masks, disposable gloves, thermometers, bin bags, surface wipes.
- It is not allowed to the customer or by closed ones to access the public areas and if there is any room available with outside entrance we transfer the customer to this room disinfecting their previous room.
Cleaning and disinfecting a patient’s room
- Good cleaning of surfaces, often touched by the patient, especially if the surfaces are soiled with biological fluids.
- The cleaning staff uses a simple surgical mask, gloves and a disposable waterproof gown.
- After removing the gloves, good hand washing follows.
- The fabric surfaces are cleaned with a Steam sterilizer (temperature>70°).
If an employee meets the criteria for the Covid-19 case definition, the following applies:
- The health official of the hotel communicates directly with NPHO for a statement of the suspected case and instructions for dealing with it.
- It is recommended, for the suspected case, to remain in a specific area with the door of the room closed.
- In a patient who has symptoms of a respiratory infection (cough, sneezing, catarrh), a simple surgical mask and tissues are given immediately.
- An investigation is being carried out into possible exposure of other employees or customers, and they are being asked to follow the instructions of NPHO.
- All surfaces are disinfected with emphasis on the workplace and the equipment that the suspected case used.
Health Official
Prekas Emmanuel