Covid-19 is here to stay for the foreseeable future. It is time for all South Africans to face it head on. Legacy Hotels and Resorts acknowledge that, because its guests are both local and foreign, it will be affected by Covid-19 as the disease continues to spread across South Africa and the world.

“The safety of all guests and staff is of paramount importance to Legacy,” says Bart Dorrestein, CEO of the hotel group which has begun implementing precautionary measures across all 21 properties in South Africa, Namibia, Ghana and Gabon. 

“We have a duty to ensure that guests and staff are able to stay and work in a safe, secure and caring environment,” he said while outlining operational procedures to do just that.

• All staff are temperature tested daily before work. Anyone showing temperatures higher than globally accepted healthy levels, will be sent home immediately to obtain medical clearance, failing which will undertake a 2-week self-isolation period.
• All surfaces in all rooms are disinfected daily and when guests leave, each room will be sterilised.
• All public areas to be disinfected frequently throughout the day.
• All tables in public areas will be spaced to ensure that contact between groups of guests will be limited.
• All guests, whether local or foreign, are required to provide information at check-in regarding their travel logistics prior to arriving at the Legacy property, including origin, previous destinations, travel type, etc. In addition, guests will be requested to submit to a temperature test and those displaying symptoms of Covid-19 to obtain medical clearance.
• A guest who tests positively for Covid-19 will immediately be isolated in designated quarantine areas in each hotel until cleared, or alternatively transferred at the guest’s discretion to an alternative location.
• In main centres, a local laboratory group has indicated that it will assist with all of the requisite Covid-19 tests and assessments while guests are under quarantine.

“South Africa’s proactive reaction to Covid-19, and the manner in which we face it will ensure the recovery of business and tourism in the shortest possible time,” says Dorrestein. “A huge challenge to the future of our beloved country. One that by working together, we can and will overcome.”