KOTA KINABALU: The Novotel Hotel Kota Kinabalu at 1Borneo here has made arrangements for its staff to undergo health screening following the tuberculosis scare at the mall recently.
The hotel’s general manager, Jacques Leizorovici, said the hotel is proactive in addressing the matter.
Nevertheless, news about the outbreak at the mall has resulted in a drop in business at the hotel, with several seminars cancelled as a result.
“Participants from Brunei Darussalam, Kuala Lumpur, Sandakan and Tawau have cancelled their plans to come,” he told a media conference yesterday.
Nonetheless, the hotel was still experiencing 80 percent occupancy as their international guests have not cancelled their stay, he said.
A doctor practising at 1Borneo, Dr Anil Kumar, said that tuberculosis was spread by bacteria and the Health Department was already aware of the situation at 1Borneo. He mentioned that the disease was not confined to the mall and could be found anywhere in Sabah.
“Due to the prevalence of the disease, every Malaysian has been vaccinated against it, yet even with vaccination, people still get infected,” he said.
He explained that this can be attributed to various factors.
“If a person gets exposed to the bacteria endlessly, there is an increased likelihood of the person becoming infected,” he said.
Additionally, if the surroundings are unhygienic, it can also spread the disease.
“Poor sanitation is also a key reason,” he said.
He also commended the proactive action of the Sagajuta Group in addressing the issue.
“They have done what needs to be done,” he said.
Sagajuta Group is the developer of 1Borneo.
Dr Kumar also said that it was unnecessary to conduct mass screening of every person patronising the mall to detect the disease.
Also present at the meeting was the hotel’s executive assistant manager, Vivian Chu.