An employee of The Crane Resort, a Government-sanctioned quarantine hotel, has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
But management of the sprawling, St Philip property insists that the employee contracted the disease outside of the resort.
Responding to complaints from a guest in a letter to Barbados TODAY regarding Crane’s management’s handling of the situation, owner and Managing Director Paul Doyle spoke of the property’s record as an official isolation centre since December 2020 for some of the thousands of visitors arriving on the island. Some of them, he said, have tested positive on a second test, and the illness has so far not spread to any others within that facility.
“During this same period, with numerous positive cases within the resort complex, there were zero instances of virus spread to staff or other guests. Unfortunately, with the current outbreak, our very first staff positive were confirmed just this week as a result of exposure outside of the resort,” he told Barbados TODAY.
“In each case of potential exposure, as per our standard protocol, management immediately initiates contact tracing, staff testing and quarantine. We accommodate staff on property in the event of potential exposure, when needed, to protect family members at home,” he stated.
The letter writer had reported that a member of staff, who works in one of the restaurants on the property, had tested positive for COVID-19, but that neither the staff nor the public had been made aware of the development.
According to the author of the correspondence, the hotel was hushed about the matter to avoid any negative publicity.
The source is adamant that the health and safety of staff, their families and guests ought to be priority charging that rumours were rampant among staff about the current situation not being the first or only positive test and suggesting that a member of staff may have been at the infamous bus crawl.
“At a general meeting on Monday, owner William Paul Doyle who is currently working from home, reassured everyone that no member of staff has tested positive for COVID-19 and the working environment was safe. If it is so safe why has he been working from home for nearly a year while many non-essential staff are being made to come on property in open defiance of Government suggesting that they work from home,” the writer asked.
It was also claimed that the staff members who have been quarantined at the hotel have gone days without being provided with meals. Mr. Doyle confirmed that meals are offered from the staff cafeteria.
In response to the concerns highlighted, Doyle said while management understands the concerns of all its team members and the general public at this very difficult time, they also believe they need to continue to keep the facts in perspective as COVID-19 continues to impact the world.
He said the resort remains open to discussing any of these issues with staff when brought to management’s attention.
The Crane owner recalled that the first positive guest case at the resort was in March 2020, the first week the pandemic was confirmed in Barbados. He noted that since then, management has learned a great deal about how to deal with the cases.
In defending the handling of the situation at the hotel, particularly as an isolation centre, Doyle gave the assurance that they have been operating with strict protocols in place to protect both staff and guests since the return of commercial flights in July 2020. He explained that this action has been carried out in “very close” collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Wellness.
“For over six (6) months, we have hosted thousands of guests arriving on the island, many of whom have been discovered as positive on a second test. Since December 2020, we have also been hosting isolation guests within the hotel, after medical clearance by Harrison Point.
“During this same period, with numerous positive cases within the resort complex, there were zero instances of virus spread to staff or other guests,” Doyle stated.
The hotel owner said that in each case of potential exposure, as per their standard protocol, management immediately initiates contact tracing, staff testing and quarantine.
With regards to the restaurant employee who tested positive, the Crane Resort boss told Barbados TODAY that as soon as it was confirmed that a staff member was exposed to a positive case at home, the restaurant was closed.
“This occurred on Monday afternoon following the general meeting in which I shared we had no positive cases, which was accurate at the time. It remains true that no positive case has been traced to The Crane Resort,” he declared.
“The outlet manager immediately advised all team members to be tested and quarantined. The restaurant has remained closed as we await staff test results and fully sanitized as per our standard disinfecting protocols. It will now be one of several restaurants on site to remain closed, not due to positive cases, but based on current and expected low occupancy for the month of February,” he disclosed.
(emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb)
