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Kinlochleven coronavirus outbreak ‘a wake-up call’ for community says councillor

Lochaber councillor Andrew Baxter.
Lochaber councillor Andrew Baxter.

Several households in the small Highland village of Kinlochleven have been forced into lockdown following an outbreak linked to a local hotel.

NHS Highland revealed that a cluster of four Covid-19 cases were linked to the privately-owned MacDonald Hotel, which has since closed with staff advised to self-isolate for two weeks.

Lochaber councillor Andrew Baxter, who lives in the village, said the outbreak was “a wake-up call”.

Kinlochleven has a population of just over 1,000, living in around 425 households.

Four cases in Covid-19 cluster linked to Highland hotel

Mr Baxter said: “Understandably this is a worrying time for those who have tested positive and their family. I wish them all a speedy recovery.

“Public health have contacted traced those who have been in close contact with people infected. So we have several other households within the village where people are self-isolating.

“Although there is natural anxiety with the village we have rallied around and are there to provide support if needed.”

He added: “If we follow all the public health advice, pay closer attention to hand hygiene and social distancing, we can contain the virus.

“This is a wake-up call to all of us that the virus is very real in the Highlands and we should never be complacent.”

The hotel – not connect to the MacDonald Hotels Group – posted on Facebook to say a team member had tested positive for the coronavirus, and the venue had undergone an extra deep clean and disinfectant fog.

Today (12/09/20) we have had a team member test positive for Covid-19. So to reassure everyone we are releasing this…

Posted by MacDonald Hotel, Kinlochleven on Saturday, 12 September 2020

Their website added: “Please note that we are now closed until Wednesday 30th September. Apologies for any inconvenience.

“We are in the process of emailing anyone that is staying with us for the next two weeks to inform them of the situation.”

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.”