Mauritius beach resort, Outrigger, on the south coast of the island at Bel Ombre, has been temporarily closed to visitors since February 18, due to the detection of the presence of Legionnella, the microorganism that causes Legionnaire’s disease.

Although no new cases related to the hotel have been identified since February 18, the property has now sent out a release notifying guests and trade of an extended period of closure so that it can implement longer term preventive measures.

“In an abundance of caution, our senior management team has made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend operations at the property, closing the resort on Friday April 15 and ceasing to receive any new arrivals from Sunday April 9 in order to add long-term safeguards that would help prevent such future incidents. Our top priority is to ensure a safe holiday for guests and working experience for our hosts,” says the release.

The property says it will assist with relocating arriving guests until April 15. Relocations will be to a like-for-like property and include honouring any meal plans booked. Any additional charges regarding the relocations will be covered by the resort. But where guests wish to be relocated to properties other than those selected by Outrigger, they are free to do so after cancelling their booking with Outrigger. The resort would not then assist in the relocation.

For guests arriving on or after April 16, the resort has promised to advise guests of next steps during this week.