Six American tourists who stayed at the Hibernian Hotel in Kilkenny had contracted Coronavirus.
A statement from the hotel says they received a call on Saturday night that six members of an American student group who stayed in the hotel for one night had contracted Covid-19 virus.
The statement went on to say:
It was the tour guide who informed the hotel of this, not the HSE.
We tried making contact with the HSE and subsequently followed the advised process on contacting staff and other protocols.
This incident, as well as adhering to the Government restrictions on groups of 100, and the necessary social distance spacing requirements combined in a small hotel like the Hibernian meant that the risk to employee and public health was too great so we started the planning process on Saturday night to close the hotel.
The hotel closed after guests had checked out on Sunday.
The hotel will remain closed until the 30th of March.
