A Laois school who were due to go to Italy on Friday have cancelled their trip.
100 students from Portlaoise CBS were due to go skiing in Northern Italy for a week from Friday March 13 – the epicenter of the Coronavirus outbreak in Italy.
They were due to stay in Artesina but with the whole of Italy now on lockdown and flights to the country cancelled, the trip has also been put off.
Each of the students paid €800 to go on the tour and crucially, that money will now be fully refunded.
Speaking to LaoisToday this morning, Principal Maura Murphy confirmed that the trip was off and that all students would get all of their money back.
She said that if they had taken the decision to postpone the trip prior to Italy being put on lockdown, the students would only have received a fraction of their payment back.
She said: “We waited it out and this is certainly the best outcome we could have hoped for from what has been a very difficult situation.
“The hotel we were due to stay in has closed while all of the flights are now cancelled.
“James Walsh and myself are thrilled that all of the students will get their money back.”
Yesterday, the Department of Health announced ten new cases which brings the total in the Republic of Ireland to 34.
