Food and hospitality

Strategies for housekeeping, public areas, guest services and food and beverage hotel sectors.

An overview of COVID-19, including a guide to reducing transmission in hotels.

What is COVID-19?
COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a coronavirus.


COVID-19 spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose, when an infected person coughs or sneezes.


It is important that you stay informed about the virus, and how it spreads. You should protect yourself and others by practising respiratory etiquette (such as coughing into a flexed elbow),  washing your hands or using alcohol based rub frequently and not touching your face.


Most people with COVID-19 will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and will recover without requiring medical treatment.


However, some people are more at risk of having a more serious  or critical response, such as the elderly or those with underlying medical problems.


Which of these factors affects if COVID-19 is able to stay on a surface?


Hand hygiene before and after each episode of guest contact and after contact with potentially contaminated surfaces or objects (even when hands appear clean).
Gloves are not a substitute for hand hygiene. Staff should perform hand hygiene before putting gloves on and after taking them off.
Use of PPE, dependent on job role and level of exposure.
Cough etiquette and respiratory hygiene.
Cough into a tissue (and discard the tissue immediately) or into the bend of the elbow then perform hand hygiene.
Regular cleaning of all areas and equipment, particularly high traffic areas.
Provision of alcohol-based hand sanitiser at the entrance to the facility and other strategic locations.


The principles of Infection Prevention & Control (IPC) include...


COVID-19 

Recommended procedures for cleaning and housekeeping in times of COVID-19.

PPE Personal Protective Equipment
You must wear PPE when cleaning rooms.


You should take the following steps when wearing your prescribed PPE...


Clean your hands
Thoroughly wash your hands with either a liquid soap or sanitiser, or a combination of running water and alcohol.
Always sanitise your hands prior to applying PPE and after removing PPE.
Gloves do not stop the spread of infection.


Put on a disposable apron
Fasten your apron at the back of your neck and behind your waist.


Put on your mask
Secure the ties and ensure that the mask is fitted snug to your face and below your chin. The mask should be covering your nose and mouth. Always handle your mask by the elastic straps.


Do not touch or adjust the mask until you are ready to remove it.


Put on protective eyeware and latex or vinyl gloves
If re-using glasses, ensure you sanitise them after you handle them using disposable wipes. This includes reading/vision glasses.


Before entering a room...
Wash your hands, even if you  are going to wear disposable gloves.
Use paper towels to dry your hands.


High touch-point surfaces should be given extra time and care...
These include...


Which of these are considered a high touch point?


Cleaning and disinfecting electronics
Remove visible contamination if present, then use alcohol-based wipes or sprays to disinfect touch screens. Make sure that the device is dried thoroughly.


Cleaning linen and clothing
When handling dirty laundry, try not to shake it around. It should be placed in a bag before you leave the room, and the clothes hamper should then be disinfected.


Cleaning glasses
Glasses and crockery should be removed and washed in a dishwasher not the room sink.


Guests may require a number of extras, especially if they are in quarantine. This may include...
Towels
Toilet paper
Soap
Shampoo and conditioner
Milk, coffee, tea and sugar
Rubbish bags


Room seals
Room seals should be placed on doors after they have been cleaned to indicate to the guest that the room has not been accessed since the cleaning.
Once a room is cleaned, the status should be changed in the room management system.


Housekeeping

Recommended procedures for public areas and guest services in times of COVID-19.

When in the office, you should maintain social distancing measures where possible.
Areas and equipment within the office should be sanitised regularly, especially since it is likely that several people will share a phone, keyboard, mouse or desk.
Equipment such as telephones, keyboards and desks should be sanitised before and after each shift.
Sharing of equipment is discouraged, and work stations should not be shared unless sanitised before use.
Desks and workstations should be separated where possible, with extra space (2 metres) between them.
Hand sanitisers should be available throughout the office, such as at each workstation.
You should sanitise your hands before coming into contact with other employees or guests. This includes handling letters and mail to be posted.


Office


You should remain behind the reception desk and behind the sneeze screens.
PPE should be worn when front-facing. At a minimum, this includes a face mask and gloves.


The desk should include hand sanitiser for guests to use, and placed at least 2 metres away from the staff.
You should also have access to staff sanitiser on your side of the screen.


Computers and desk equipment (such as keyboard and mouse) should be sanitised regularly.


Guests should use card payments only and the payment terminal machines should be wiped down with a disinfectant wipe after each guest use.
You should not handle the guest's payment card, and you should verbally remind them to use contactless payment if possible.


Pens used for signing documents should be wiped down with a disinfectant wipe after each guest use.
You should not share pens between reception team members and the guests.


Key cards should only be used once and should be disinfected prior to guest use.


If a guest requires assistance in storing their luggage, you should take the guest to the luggage store, whilst maintaining social distancing. The guest should carry their own luggage if possible.
The handle to the luggage store should be wiped with disinfectant before and after use.


Public Areas and Guest Services

Recommended procedures for the service of food and beverages in times of COVID-19.

While in the kitchen, you should stay 2 metres away from others as much as possible.
In a small kitchen, this can be difficult but different hotels may have procedures in place such as only allowing one person into the chilled store room at a time.


Access to the kitchen is limited to essential persons only. If you are not kitchen staff, you must not enter the kitchen, and waiters should only collect from the pass.


Deliveries to the kitchen should be left in the designated area, with physical distancing maintained between staff and the delivery person.


Handwashing should be frequent, and hand sanitiser should be used to compliment handwashing.


You may be required to wear PPE such as masks, in the kitchen and throughout the duration of your shift.


Food preparation surfaces must be cleaned, disinfected and sanitised as normal, and regularly throughout the shift.
The chemicals used must be effective against COVID-19. Make sure to read the instructions on the label to ensure the dilution rate and time is executed correctly.


Extra attention should be paid to high touch points, and should be disinfected if anyone is to visit the kitchen, such as a delivery person.


The two-metre physical distancing rule should be maintained during rest periods and breaks.


Where possible, there should be a maximum of 4 persons for every 10 metres squared.
Customer should sit two metres away from each other, where possible, and also maintain a two-metre gap when in a queue.


Tables should be arranged with extra free space around them. The back of chair to another should be more than one metre apart, and the same for guests on the same table.


Procedure for room service
DELIVERY
You must wash your hands before picking up and delivering trays to guests.
Trays or delivery bags should be left off the floor next to the door.
When delivering room service, you should knock on the door and leave the tray, before stepping two metres away from the door.
After the guest has picked up their tray and left, you should remove your gloves and then wash your hands afterwards.
RETRIEVAL
When the guests are finished with the tray or utensils, they should leave them outside the room on the floor.
When you pick up the tray it should be taken to the relevant area to be decontaminated. Crockery and cutlery should be put in the dishwasher to be sanitised.
Any linen must be placed in the laundry bag.
Disposable gloves must be taken off after handling the trays and disposed of, then you must wash your hands.


Guests should stay two metres away from counters where possible.
Guests should avoid handling food.


Tongs and ladles should be changed frequently, with each item in separate containers.
If possible, plates should be only be picked up food and beverage staff, and you should avoid allowing guests to access plates or utensils which they are not directly using.


If you are plating food for guests, you should ask the guest to place their tray down, and move away before you put the food on the plate. Then they should come back to collect the plate once you have stepped back.


Self-serve machines such as coffee machines, and in particular the parts for the machine which are touched more frequently, should be cleaned and disinfected after service, and more often if necessary.


The buffet surfaces should be cleaned and disinfected after each service.
Staff should perform hand hygiene when they come into contact with items used by customers.
Use contactless payment where possible.


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