Day 10: Feeling fortunate, extra Covid test and waste

We were chatting with a security guard on our walks and he said we were quite lucky to be in this hotel and should be glad we're not in one of the city hotels. He told us that the city hotels didn't have easy walkaround areas like we did here and that exercise at some involved guests being taken by bus to another area for walking. With only 12 people allowed per bus and 4 buses per day, it could sometimes be 3 or 4 days between walks. At our hotel you could go for a walk in every on-the-hour slot if you wanted to.

I got a bit concerned as I woke with a bit of a tickle in my throat and a warm feeling in my head, which could be a fever. Together these could be signs of Covid-19. I rang the nurses station and they had us come down for temperature checks. Thankfully my temperature was normal, as were the others, however to be on the safe side they decided to do another Covid test on me. Later that day they turned up outside our room in full PPE and I had my second Covid test, which was somewhat more uncomfortable than the first. We now have to remain in isolation in our room until I get the fast tracked result back the next day.

Waste

Something we noticed from the moment of our first meal here was the enormous amount of waste that was generated. All of the packaging is disposable and so after every meal we put out a big bag of rubbish into the hallway for collection.

All of this rubbish then ends up in waste area which we see on our walks ...


I can only imagine how much waste is generated by about 200 people per day. One day we did get a sneak peak into the room where all the bags are put together which gives an idea of the huge volume involved in this hotel


This place is of course is just one of about 30 such isolation/quarantine hotels around the country.

I think the main focus is on the safety of the staff and guests by avoiding the cleaning and reuse of packaging and utensils. We usually use the metal cutlery and bowls that are provided in the room, but we're still throwing out the provided wooden cutlery and cardboard/plastic bowls the food comes in.

To their credit the cardboard containers are compostable: on the removable flaps are the words "Compost Me! I am made from renewable plant material. I turn into soil in 90 days in home or industrial compost." What I'm not sure about is whether this waste is separated out and composted, which I think is critical for providing the high temperatures required for the material to break down. I suppose that even if it isn't composted, it probably breaks down far quicker than plastic packaging. The packaging is unbranded but is probably Ecoware or BioPak.


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