NHS Highland begins contact tracing after cluster of Covid-19 coronavirus cases in Kinlochleven area forces the local MacDonald Hotel to shut its doors to guests

A HIGHLAND hotel in Lochaber has closed to guests after a Covid cluster broke out in the community.

Four cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in the Kinlochleven area – all of which are linked to the local MacDonald Hotel.

NHS Highland said that the hotel has shut its doors to guests as a result and all staff have been advised to self-isolate for 14 days.

The health board said its Health Protection Team has been carrying out case follow ups in accordance with national guidance. Contact tracing is being carried out, with all those identified as close contacts being advised to self-isolate.

Any close contacts of positive cases will be identified through this route – and NHS Highland has advised people that, if they are not contacted, then there is "no cause for concern".

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.”

News of the cluster comes after 11 new cases were detected in the NHS Highland area in the past day.

The MacDonald Hotel is not part of the Macdonald Hotels Group, which operates a number of sites in the Highlands.

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