Mexico City closes hotels due to COVID-19

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CDMX published an agreement on Wednesday, ordering the suspension of activities in non-essential establishments, among which are lodging services.

Hotels in Mexico City will begin to close their doors and could be occupied to provide care for non-serious patients infected with coronavirus (COVID-19).

In the official Gazette of the capital, the extraordinary actions agreement was published before the Declaration of Sanitary Emergency for the epidemic of the coronavirus COVID-19, where it is requested to suspend activities in non-essential establishments, among which are lodging services.

The brief orders this immediate suspension, from April 1 to 30, 2020, in order to mitigate the spread and transmission of the virus, to reduce the burden of the disease, its complications, and death from COVID-19 in the population of the Mexico City, where until Wednesday night 296 confirmed cases and eight deaths were reported.

In this sense, it is ordered to postpone tourism activities and accommodation establishments.

In this regard, the president of the National Tourist Business Council, Braulio Arsuaga, told an interview with Radio Formula that on Wednesday night he was contacted by Roberto Ortega, from the team of Alfonso Romo, head of the presidential office, about this suspension.

“He told us that if we were willing to provide hotels for patients who do not fit in hospitals, we said yes, that, of course, there is a desire and desire to turn those hotels not into a hospital but into a refuge,” he said.

Despite the fact that occupancy is only 9%, the closure of hotels brings complications such as the accommodation of airline crews, maintenance costs, the lack of hotel income and confusion about how the measure will be applied, Arsuaga said.

“As time goes by, this number of closed hotels is increasing. So it is very complicated because I insist, both an industry that requires hotels for the night, and an emergency that requires hotels to keep non-serious patients in hotels, but we also have the order to close. There is still this confusion, “he explained.

The also CEO of Grupo Presidente, indicated that they will begin preparing the facilities of the Hotel Presidente Intercontinental Polanco and give notice to guests to temporarily close as of this Sunday.

“Of course we will also close the hotels since it is an instruction and that we contribute to the non-spread of the virus, however, I do not know the overnight stays how they are going to occur or I do not know the possibility of a consideration,” he said.

Source: politica.expansion.mx

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