Days after Chennai’s ITC Grand Chola turned out to be a COVID-19 cluster, another star hotel in the city has been ordered to suspend all its scheduled events and gatherings immediately after 10% of its staffers tested positive for coronavirus. 20 staff members of Hotel Leela Palace, in MRC Nagar, tested positive for the virus, after which the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) ordered the curbs. The hotel is a prominent spot for high profile political and business meetings in Chennai. 

As per data released by GCC on Sunday, a total of 1,623 employees working in star hotels in Chennai have been tested for the virus since December 16. Of the 1,623 staffers tested, 114 have returned positive for the infection. Similarly, 2,769 staff members working in hotels other than star category were also tested since December 16 of which 11 have turned out positive for coronavirus. A total of 125 hotel staff members have contracted COVID-19 since December 16 as per the data provided by the GCC. The test results of 2,163 employees are yet to be received by corporation officials.

While COVID-19 positive cases have arisen in other luxury hotels as well, none of them are indicative of a cluster other than ITC Grand Chola and Leela Palace, according to a report. Between December 15 and January 3, 97 samples out of 619 samples have returned positive in ITC Grand Chola while 20 samples out of the 232 samples tested in Leela Palace have turned out to be positive for coronavirus. The corporation will undertake testing in hotels with banquet halls for events and functions, working men’s and women’s hostels over the next three weeks, as a precautionary measure.

Tamil Nadu, meanwhile, reported 867 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday. The number of persons currently receiving treatment for the infection in the state is 8,127. The state government also reported that 10 persons have died due to COVID-19 on Sunday, taking the total death toll due to the disease in Tamil Nadu to 12,156.