The East Singhbhum district administration is planning to make it mandatory for hotels in the steel city and Ghatshila to inform about their guests’ travel history on a daily basis, and arrange for passengers to be screened at Tatanagar and Ghatshila in view of the novel coronavirus threat.

Deputy commissioner Ravi Shankar Shukla said a meeting would be organised of health officials, NGOs, hotels and railway officials on Friday.

“In line with the advisory issued by the Union health ministry, we would be enforcing provisions under Section 2 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, and have decided to call a meeting of officials of different government departments including education and health tomorrow (Friday). We have also called members of hoteliers’ association, NGOs and railway authorities to the meeting. The civil surgeon will be holding talks with railway authorities and hotels to ensure enforcement of the Act,” the DC said.

The Act gives the administration power to take special measures and prescribe regulations to be observed by the public to tackle or prevent the outbreak of a disease. The Act also gives the power to inspect “persons travelling by railway or otherwise, and segregation, in hospital, temporary accommodation or otherwise, of persons suspected by the inspecting officer of being infected with any such disease”.

District civil surgeon Dr Maheshwar Prasad said: “We will issue a notice to all the hotels to start providing us details of travel history of visitors coming to stay in their accommodation so that thermal screening can be done in the case of travel history abroad, especially to countries like China, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Japan, Italy, Thailand, Singapore, Iran, Malaysia, France, Spain and Germany. All the visitors might have undergone screening at an international airport in India, but we would like to be doubly sure and want to know if the visitors from abroad had been quarantined (for a period of 14 days from the date of their arrival) or not.”

He said they would be asking all hotels to ensure that alcohol-based sanitizers are provided in every room and at reception counters.

Jamshedpur Hotel and Restaurant Association president Rajiv Duggal said almost all hotels have already taken steps to combat the virus threat.

“We have already started following the advisory issued by Union health ministry, specially keeping hand sanitizers at rooms and different points of our hotels. We would be happy to share information with the health officials about our visitors if the administration wants so,” said Duggal.

There are nearly 100 hotels and restaurants in Jamshedpur.

The district civil surgeon said he would also ask the Tatanagar and Ghatshila station authorities to allow screening of passengers coming from abroad.

“We will be setting up health check-up camps at Tatanagar and Ghatshila railway stations, as there are the two major railway stations in the district which witness arrival of foreign tourists. Depending on feedback from the railways we will be conducting screening of visitors arriving at the station,” said Dr Prasad.

The administration is also mulling setting up awareness kiosks at the Sitaramdera bus terminus about the novel coronavirus.