ISLAMABAD: Khurshid Ahmed had never thought he would be risking his life while serving his hotel guests in the heart of the federal capital.
The three-star residential facility where he works as a supervisor was turned into a temporary quarantine center by the government in March to facilitate the stranded Pakistanis returning to their homeland from other countries amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The repatriates get an option to stay at state-run quarantine centers or designated establishments under government control.
Instead of his regular formal wear for work, Ahmed puts on the protective clothing while serving his guests arriving from different countries who are immediately quarantined in separate rooms until the National Institute of Health (NIH) administers COVID-19 tests.
“I have been working for two years at this hotel, but I could not have imagined a situation where my work would become so hazardous,” he told Arab News while getting into his protective attire to prepare and serve the evening iftar meal to his guests who are usually required to stay at the facility for four days before being permitted to leave by the authorities.
“The number of hotel staff dealing with the guests has been deliberately limited by officials to lessen the chances of infections. We work in [three] shifts, and none of us is allowed to step outside the premises until our tests have concluded with negative results,” he said, adding that the NIH, which has given health safety training to the hotel staff, runs COVID-19 tests twice a week to check the employees.
While health professionals and doctors treating the coronavirus patients are acknowledged to be doing high-risk jobs, Ahmed says that hotel employees like him are also putting themselves in harm’s way while working on the front line to meet the needs of people who may be potential carriers of the virus.
According to the city magistrate, Ghulam Murtaza Chandio, Ahmed’s hotel has witnessed the highest number of positive cases among the 16 quarantine centers in Islamabad.
“Praise be to God, none of us has tested positive,” Ahmed told Arab News. “We can’t fear the virus since we have to fight it.”
Despite his enthusiasm to defeat the pathogen that has claimed about 600 lives in Pakistan as the country reports over 25,600 confirmed cases, he faces a string of complaints of his guests who are either unhappy about being quarantined or dissatisfied with the hotel’s curtailed serves.
“We understand their frustration, but the guests are not allowed to leave their rooms. They cannot have visitors, and nothing can be brought for them from outside,” front desk clerk Asif Kiani told Arab News.
Asked if he fears the temporary residents of the facility, Kiani says: “I am definitely fearful of working in this environment. But we have to conceal our emotions since any display of anxiety will only make the atmosphere more burdensome.”
