Pub issued with closure notice after “person who tested positive for covid and had access to all areas of the inn was not self-isolating”

A Closure Notice has been issued to the Greyhound Inn following a failure to take reasonable measures to minimise the risk of exposure to Coronavirus to staff and customers.

Wrexham Council say person who had tested positive for Coronavirus had access to all areas of the premises on Holt Road was not self-isolating.

A statement released by the local authority today, explains that the closure is with immediate effect and will stay in place until a deep cleaning of the premises has taken place, a Risk Assessment describing all procedures to prevent the spread of the virus is produced to show two metres social distancing, all customers are seated at tables with table service only, masks are worn by everyone in the premises except when seated and that the correct contact details are being recorded.

Cllr Hugh Jones, Lead Member for Communities, Partnerships, Public Protection and Community Safety, said: “It is essential that members of the public are confident that all precautions have been taken before they visit licensed premises.

“In this instance their safety was not protected and the risk of exposure was very high.

“The vast majority of commercial premises have complied with the regulations and recognise that these are in place in order to protect their staff and public. On this occasion however, this was clearly not the case and officers had no alternative but to issue the closure notice with immediate effect.

“I hope this serves as a reminder to everyone that Coronavirus is still in our community and until that changes we will not hesitate to take action in order to keep Wrexham safe.”

Guidance on self isolation is available from Welsh Government and we should be aware of what actions we must take if we have symptoms or test positive for Coronavirus – https://gov.wales/self-isolation-stay-home-guidance-households-possible-coronavirus

You can read the full Closure Notice on the Wrexham Council website, here – https://www.wrexham.gov.uk/service/improvement-and-closure-notices , it states:

A person who has tested positive for coronavirus has had regular to access the licensed premises, bar areas and private areas of the building after testing positive and during the period where social-isolation was required.
Table Service has not been implemented, as required by law and customers have been using the bar, served by a member of staff

The notice states, “A copy/copies of the notice and sign required to be displayed on the premises and published on the local authority website must continue to be displayed and published for as long as the notice has effect.”