A cluster of four Covid-19 cases have been linked to a hotel in Kinlochleven, NHS Highland has announced.
The MacDonald Hotel in the town has closed, and its staff have been advised to self-isolate for two weeks.
NHSH is aware of a cluster of four cases of #COVID19 within the #Kinlochleven area. All cases are linked to the MacDonald Hotel. The hotel has closed and all staff have been advised to self-isolate for 14 dayshttps://t.co/B0B4RaQmuf
— NHS Highland (@NHSHighland) September 16, 2020
The hotel posted on Facebook on September 12 to say a team member had tested positive for the coronavirus, and the venue had undergone an extra deep clean and disinfectant fog.
They added: “We have been interviewed by Environmental Health and they are satisfied with both our distancing and cleaning policies and the actions we took today once we found out.
“They have also received all of our track and trace information and will contact any one they deem necessary.
“We are in the process of emailing anyone that is staying with us for the next two weeks to inform them of the situation.”
This was followed by another post yesterday, explaining that the hotel was going to be closed for a further two weeks.
It said: “Although the EHO and NHS teams were satisfied with our operation, and we were not required to isolate by the Contact and Trace team, we have taken the decision to self-isolate for the safety of the rest of our team, our larger community and our guests.”
The post continued: “We would like to thank our team, who have been incredibly supportive, our guests, who have been very understanding and the wider community for their assistance in helping us come to this decision.
“Most of all we would like to thank the Kinlochleven Resilience and Support Team who have been there for us every step of the way since Saturday morning.”
NHS Highland has said any close contacts of positive cases will be identified through contact tracing, and if people have not been contacted by the Health Protection Team they should not be concerned.
Dr Tim Allison, Director of Public Health with NHS Highland, said: “We appreciate that this will be causing anxiety within the local community but please be reassured that investigations so far have seen no evidence of wider community spread.
“We would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that the virus can recur even in rural communities and so everyone should continue to adhere to physical distancing guidelines, wear a face-covering when in enclosed spaces, clean your hands and surfaces regularly and immediately self-isolate if you develop symptoms.”