Hotel worker adjusts to the job post COVID
As Jamaicans move to adapt to the changes which have resulted from the coronavirus pandemic, Clive Frater, an employee at a hotel in St Ann, says that he has been adjusting to the ‘new normal’ in the hospitality business.
Tourism Minister Ed Bartlett has said that travellers are now being influenced by COVID security and it is, therefore, important for players in the industry to follow established protocols to keep workers and guests alike safe.
“All the procedure at work is different now, but me nuh really have no problem with it. Me just a work with it because it is just the protocol for everybody safety,” Frater said.
The employee, who has been employed at the hotel for two years, highlighted what life was like before the novel coronavirus arrived in Jamaica.
GIVE OTHER PEOPLE
SPACE
“We usually go a the canteen any time ... now, we have a specific time to go and we can’t spend more than half-hour, because we have to give other people space. Even before we go a the canteen yah now, everybody have to line up ... wash hands, dry them ,then go inside; and security deh ‘bout, so a nuh joke ting,” he told THE STAR. “One time we usually go in and serve ourselves, now a one person a serve all the drinks.”
He added: “A whole heap a things different, man. We have to social distance, and masks have to wear all day. When we a enter the compound now, is a next big change, because them have temperature checks and hands have to wash before we go in.”
In March, Bartlett announced that all hotels would have to stop receiving guest for a period of two months to contain the spread of COVID-19. Many hotel workers were left without income; however, with the travel restrictions lifted, guests are slowly returning to hotels.
Frater, who does maintenance on the property, said that more than anything, he is excited and grateful to be back at wok.
“The truth is that everybody want to work, and we need the money, so we just have to do the right thing,” said Frater. “Me happy say me can start make back some money, so the changes a no problem. As long as corona last, we just have to work with it until they find a vaccine and people start feel secure and safe,” he told THE STAR. “Right now, we a prepare for the guest them, so we just a take down the AC them and a clean up the place the real and proper way.”