Twenty staff members at one of Chennai's star hotels, the Leela Palace, tested positive for Covid-19, NDTV.com, quoting health authorities, reported on Monday.

The news comes a fortnight after another luxury hotel, ITC Grand Chola, emerged as a Covid cluster where 85 staff of the ITC hotel, their family members and neighbours were declared positive for the novel coronavirus infection.

While the hotel officials said they were following all state-directed standard operating procedures (SOPs), in addition to their own hygiene protocol, the Tamil Nadu health authorities ordered a saturation test covering all members of the establishment and across hotels in the city, the website reported.

As many as 232 staff members of the Leela Palace were tested for the virus and results of about 10 per cent were shown to be positive, NDTV.com quoted a senior health official as saying.

Of the total 6,416 people directly employed at hotels across Chennai, almost 68 per cent, or 4,392 staff members were tested for coronavirus, officials said.

"Hotels in Chennai are being periodically screened and sensitised. The Chennai Corporation was asked to conduct a saturation test for all the residents of the hotel," Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan had said earlier.

Over 100 students of IT-Madras were infected with Covid-19 within a week's time in mid-December last year and the campus had to be put under temporary lockdown.