The new Omicron variant is expected to feature in an outbreak of Covid-19 following a hotel party, an NHS board has said.
NHS Fife has confirmed a cluster of Covid-19 cases linked to a large evening event, featuring a Take That tribute band, at the Fairmont Hotel in St Andrews.
Enhanced contact tracing is ongoing to identify the known close contacts of all positive cases so they can be given appropriate public health advice and instructed to self-isolate.
NHS Fife’s deputy director of public health, Dr Esther Curnock, said: “We are aware of cases of Covid-19 linked to a particular evening event held at the Fairmont Hotel in St Andrews on December 4.
“We are working closely with our colleagues in the local environmental health service, and with the management of the Fairmont Hotel to reduce the risk of more widespread transmission of the virus.
“The evidence at this stage suggests at least some of the those who are known to have tested positive are likely to have been carrying the Omicron variant of the virus, which we know is highly transmissible.
“It is vital, therefore, that all of those who attended event remain vigilant of the signs and symptoms of the virus, and isolate immediately should any of these develop.
“The advice to local people, however, remains the same as it has for much of the response to the pandemic.
“Simple steps, such as wearing face coverings, ensuring indoor spaces are well ventilated and thoroughly cleaning our hands surfaces regularly, all contribute towards reducing our risk of catching and spreading the virus.”
On Friday, the Scottish Sun reported that around 40 staff at Hairmyres Hospital, in NHS South Lanarkshire, were self-isolating due to an Omicron outbreak linked to their work Christmas party.
The Fairmont hotel said that it is unable to comment at present as the manager is off until Monday.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel