England pubs forced to close days after reopening after customer tests positive for coronavirus

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British pubs struggling to survive amid COVID-19 pandemic

British pubs, which have been on the decline since 2000, are being hit hard by the coronavirus crisis; Benjamin Hall reports from London.

Days after reopening pubs and restaurants in parts of England, some establishments were forced to close again after customers reported they had tested positive for coronavirus.

A customer who visited the Lighthouse Kitchen and Carvery in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset on Saturday, said he tested positive for COVID-19, triggering at least two other local eateries he had also visited to close, The Guardian reported.

Members of the public are seen at a bar in Manchester's Northern Quarter, England, Saturday July 4, 2020. England is embarking on perhaps its biggest lockdown easing yet as pubs and restaurants have the right to reopen for the first time in more than three months Saturday. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

The restaurant informed customers of its closure as of Monday in a post on Facebook saying, “This isn’t the message we wanted to write so soon, but the Lighthouse will be closed due to a customer testing positive.”

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The son of the pub's landlady told The Guardian seven members of the staff who had been working Saturday were tested for COVID-19 following the customer's report and received negative results.

At least 100 customers that had been at the restaurant were also notified they should get tested.

Another bar in Burnham called the Vape Escape closed on Monday for a full clean after the same man said he visited the shop on Saturday.

The owner of Vape Escape told The Guardian she was issued guidance by National Health Service Test and Trace that "following cleaning and contacting everyone that I could reopen."

Men pose for a photo, outside a pub as it reopened, in Borough Market, as coronavirus lockdown restrictions eased across England, in London, Saturday, July 4, 2020. (Victoria Jones/PA via AP)

A driver who works at the Indian takeaway restaurant Saagar informed his employer he had been at the Lighthouse Kitchen, causing the restaurant to shut down until Friday to undergo a deep clean.

Pubs and restaurants are required by the government to take down contact information for at least one person per group of individuals entering an establishment to make it easier to trace positive cases of coronavirus.

Customers can refuse to give the information but owners can then decline to serve them.

The Somerset county council said it was not treating the case as an “outbreak” and asked people to maintain social distancing guidelines and wash their hands regularly to avoid spreading the virus.

In another instance in Bately, West Yorkshire, the Fox and Hounds bar said it would be closed after a customer said they had tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday.

“The pub will be fully deep-cleaned, and when safe to do so we will reopen our doors. We fully understand this is a scary time, but want to ensure our customer safety is our main priority in these tough times,” the pub said in a statement.

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The Village Home pub in Alverstoke near Gosport, Hampshire, said it had also had a case of coronavirus and some staff members have been in isolation as the pub closed down.

A nearby pub, the Fighting Cocks, also closed temporarily as a precaution.

Thousands of people flocked to bars over the weekend in a frenzy dubbed “Super Saturday” that marked some restrictions lifted after the coronavirus pandemic swept across the country nearly three months earlier.