Asking guests to share their Covid-19 status/symptoms

[Vanessa1196]

Hello everyone and I hope all of you are safe.  I am interested in what is both ethical and legal regarding when it comes to asking guests to share whether they have been or are ill.  I am prepared to accept guests if they have experienced flu-like symptoms or have tested positive for Covid-19 in the past 14 days -- after all, I have a very large chance that guests will arrive who are Covid-19 positive but exhibit no symptoms.  However, I would like to know so that I can clean afterwards with the knowledge a guest was actively shedding virus during their stay.  I would appreciate hearing the thoughts on this from other hosts.  Thank you.

[Linda108]

@Vanessa1196   It seems that self report with this virus is very unreliable due to the large percentage of asymptomatic carriers.  I would assume the guest has the virus and will be shedding virus to decide about your cleaning routine.  Perhaps another step is to allow a longer time between booking to allow the space to "breathe".  Not something you would have to do always but maybe a precaution for now.

[Sarah977]

@Vanessa1196  You have to assume that anyone might have the virus. There are plenty of asymptomatic people who are infected and can spread it. And even if someone had had a test that was negative, that doesn't mean they couldn't have gotten infected on the way to your place.

You have to clean the same way after all guests- assume they all are potential carriers.

[Gordon0]

Certainly here in the U.K., it’s going to be a very long time until we have to worry ourselves with that dilemma. As well as the very low travel appetite, it’s highly likely we will introduce a 14-day quarantine for all international arrivals from the end of this month. 

Tough times ahead, @Vanessa1196.

[Debra300]

I agree with all of the comments that you must assume that everyone has coronavirus, and clean and vacate your space accordingly.

I do believe that due to international travel restrictions (arrival quarantines, closed borders, visa discrimination, etc.), there will be an uptick in local travel.  At my places in St. Lucia and Atlanta, I found that a good bit of the guests were local couples looking for a romantic getaway, regional visitors, or returning immigrants who don't want to stay with family during their visitor.  I foresee these types of travel will resume as more businesses/attractions open during the warmer months, along with the expanded access for testing.  

St. Lucia's economy is too dependent upon tourism to keep the borders closed, and will start accepting international flights on June 4.  They will remove the 14 day quarantine requirement for arrivals, and will heavily depend up the results from the testing performed at the departure and arrival airports to screen visitors to the island.

[Anonymous]

@Vanessa1196  I can only echo some of the comments above;  I don't think it's useful or appropriate for an Airbnb host to request health-related info from guests. Self-reporting is just not a reliable indicator here, so if you choose to accept guests during a pandemic you have to regard all of them as though they are potentially infectious carriers and organize your cleaning routine appropriately.

I don't think it's illegal for you to ask whether someone has had flu-like symptoms, but I just don't see anything to gain from it. From an ethical perspective, you might consider the privacy implications here. Would you ask a guest about their HIV status or their mental health?