The Hotel Du Golf located in Aba, Abia State, has refuted a social media report claiming that a Lebanese guest was lodging in its facility and had been down with the dreaded COVID-19
disease.
disease.
Consultant to the hotel, Olamilekan Olalemi, said the report was fake news meant to cause unwarranted scare in the hotel and in the State.
He, however, said that the hotel only had a South Africa guest who went for malaria treatment in a private hospital in Aba.
Olalemi explained that the South African national who works with a retail firm planning to open an outlet in Aba, had been in Nigeria for over one month now without foreign travels.
He said: “He is the engineer installing their equipment. The said person has never travelled out of Aba since he checked into the hotel.
“He was having malaria symptoms and he went to the hospital for test and malaria was diagnosed and treated.”
A Facebook user, with the name Dodoh Okafor, had alleged in a post that a Lebanese guest lodging at the hotel showed symptoms of coronavirus and was taken to the Abia State Teaching
Hospital, where he was referred to the Federal Medical Centre(FMC), Aba.
Hospital, where he was referred to the Federal Medical Centre(FMC), Aba.
The hotel said the lies told by the Facebook user who claimed to work for an online media, showed his desperation at circulating fake news, because Aba has no FMC.
In a statement, Gibson Ejimogu, General Manager of the hotel, said, “We hereby refute and condemn the post on Facebook by one ‘Dodoh Okafor’ alleging that a Lebanese guest lodging at Hotel Du Golf had a test at Abia State Teaching Hospital in Aba and showed symptoms
of Coronavirus.
of Coronavirus.
“In the first instance, Hotel Du Golf does not have any Lebanese guest. The entire claim by Dodoh Okafor is therefore, false, malicious and deceitful. He should be seen as an enemy of the
state government and anti-hospitality potential of Abia State and its people as
a whole.
state government and anti-hospitality potential of Abia State and its people as
a whole.
“The truth of the matter is that the guest is an engineer working for a retail outlet yet to be opened in Aba.
He checked into the hotel on 20th February 2020. He is a South African and has been in the hotel for more than a month and since then, he had not traveled out.
He checked into the hotel on 20th February 2020. He is a South African and has been in the hotel for more than a month and since then, he had not traveled out.
“We seize this opportunity to
affirm our total commitment to the safety and well-being of our valued guests.”
affirm our total commitment to the safety and well-being of our valued guests.”
Olalemi also said the 94-room 5-star hotel, which is the biggest in Abia State is strictly committed to recommended hygiene and preventive practices against the coronavirus, stressing that the hotel provides thermometre for checking all guests’ temperature and hand-washing utilities at the entry point, lobby, bar, restaurants and other facilities.
“We also check guests’ temperature at the entry point. We have hand sanitizers in all the rooms, at the restaurants and all other places at the hotel. Hotel Du Golf is number one hospitality centre in the whole of Abia State and receives guests from every part of the country and around the world, so, we cannot joke with our guests’ and staff health and welfare,” he added.
