The publican of Burnham-On-Sea’s Somerset & Dorset pub has been praised for quickly closing it when a customer confirmed they had tested positive for Coronavirus.
Publican Phil Burke told Burnham-On-Sea.com that a customer who was in the pub last Saturday night had called to say she had received a positive test result – and he closed within a matter of minutes.
The lady customer believes it may be a ‘false positive’ as her parents and colleagues have also been tested and came back negative.
As we reported here, he says Public Health England had been in touch on Thursday and said he did not need to close. However, Phil says he wanted to be cautious and decided to deep clean the pub on Friday and get all staff tested before re-opening.
Chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, Emma McClarkin, says: “The pub in question carried out the required risk assessments and put in place the required measures to keep their customers and staff safe.”
“It also followed government guidelines for collecting customer contact details. The pub voluntarily closed for a deep clean following contact from a customer who informed them of a positive Covid test.”
“The measures and systems in place for pubs to follow are working and as a sector we continue to work closely with the authorities and pubgoers to ensure our pubs open and operate safely.”
Trudi Grant, Director of Public Health at Somerset County Council, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We are aware another Burnham-On-Sea pub, the Somerset & Dorset, has closed after a customer who recently visited tested positive for Coronavirus.”
“Again, we commend the pub for reacting quickly, helping keep staff and customers as safe as possible.”
“The positive case highlighted over the weekend who visited The Lighthouse and the new case who visited the Somerset & Dorset are not thought to be linked.”
She adds: “We’d like to reassure you that anyone identified as a close contact of the positive case will be contacted by the NHS Test and Trace service and advised to self-isolate for 14 days, even if they aren’t displaying symptoms.”
“If you visited the ‘Somerset & Dorset’, you do not need to self-isolate or take any further action unless you are contacted by the NHS Test and Trace service or you start to show symptoms. If you show symptoms, you must self-isolate immediately and book a test.”
“When you visit a place such as a pub or restaurant, you are now asked to provide contact details to enable us to get in touch with anyone we may need to advise on isolating or getting tested. In this instance, we are working with the pub, Public Health England and NHS partners to provide public health advice and to help stop the spread of the virus.”
“Businesses, including pubs, have been asked to take certain measures to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, including ensuring staff can maintain social distancing wherever possible and are able to regularly wash their hands for 20 seconds with soap and water, and cleaning frequently touched surfaces.”
“It’s also important if you test positive that you inform the Test and Trace Service of all the locations you’ve visited so any close contacts can be quickly identified.”
“This is yet another reminder that Coronavirus still circulates in our communities, and it’s important we all follow government guidance such as social distancing and washing our hands frequently to prevent its spread.”
“The pub has been advised to take appropriate public health measures to ensure it is safe for other staff and customers to attend as normal. However, if anyone does develop symptoms, which include a new continuous cough, high temperature or loss or change to their sense of taste or smell, they should self-isolate straight away.”
“It’s important to note that if you’ve been in close contact with someone who has tested positive, you are not showing any symptoms and take a test which then has a negative result, you still need to self-isolate for 14 days, just to be sure. You may unknowingly still be incubating the disease, which the test will not have picked up at that stage.”
