Hotels operating during a new type of coronavirus pandemic must follow a number of guidelines to prevent cases of COVID-19 infection or the spread of the virus.
The Azerbaijani Food Safety Agency (AFSA) has issued a statement in this regard.
One of the important conditions in the organization of hotel services, especially in public catering areas, is the implementation of relevant methodological guidelines, recommendations and requirements.
Thus, taking into account the impact of overcrowding on the intensity of the spread of the disease, as a system of queuing among customers and other preventive measures, appropriate facilities (dispensers) for the use of disinfectant solution in hotels should be located and operated.
Additional masks and other hygiene items should be provided to non-masked persons in all areas where guests and staff may enter. Also, cash payments should be limited in all service areas of the enterprise and contactless payment methods should be preferred.
In the catering areas of hotels, staff must strictly follow the rules of personal hygiene. Also, when entering the hotel, their temperature should be measured using thermal camera systems or a non-contact thermometer, and they should not be involved if their body temperature is determined to be 37.5 ° C or higher. One of the main conditions is that the staff working in the catering sector of the hotels should wear clean work clothes.
As part of preventive measures, the entire territory of the hotels should be cleaned with disinfectants in accordance with the characteristics of the surfaces.
It should be noted that the frequency of cleaning and disinfection measures for each section (work area) depends on the risk of infection, human density, level of contamination, type of product, type of contamination, type of surface, etc. should be planned taking into account factors such as.
Guests should be supervised to ensure that they use the mask at all other times, except when eating and drinking, and when leaving the table. Maintaining social distance is one of the key measures to prevent COVID-19 infection. Therefore, a minimum distance of 2 meters should be provided between the guests, and special signs should be placed where possible.
It should be noted that the requirement of physical (social) distance does not apply to guests from the same family or sharing the same room.
Per capita density norms must be observed when accepting customers in the hotel's public catering areas. Special boards in front of the public catering area (entrance) should reflect the total area of food intake, the number of seats, the distance between tables, the density norms per capita.
The kitchens of hotels must ensure the cleanliness of surfaces, tools and equipment in contact with food, and the staff must strictly follow the rules of personal hygiene. All food in the kitchen should be kept clean and closed in closed cupboards in accordance with the nature of the food. As few people as possible from the staff should be allowed to touch the food by hand. Unprocessed foods and ready-to-eat foods should be stored separately in the kitchen to eliminate the possibility of cross-infection.
At the same time, in order to eliminate the possibility of infection from products of animal origin, products of animal origin brought to the kitchen must undergo state veterinary control and be accompanied by appropriate permits.
In the public catering areas of hotels - in the kitchen, the staff must ensure personal hygiene, thermal processing during cooking, as well as cleaning raw materials before use, regular washing and cleaning of food sets, kitchen equipment, dirty surfaces.