‘Safety will be best bar none’
A Perth pub owner is aiming to go “over and above” to provide a safe environment for his customers as he prepares to reopen next week.
Edward Gray (61) of The Robert Burns Lounge saw cleaners spray a long-lasting formula on every surface of the pub interior on Tuesday, as well as deploy an aerosol solution that kills harmful airborne microorganisms.
The method, called antimicrobial infection control (AIC), is the use of an ultra low volume (ULV) fogging machine that disperses a chemical solution that disperses onto surfaces and into the air.
The solution then forms a protective “micro-thin skin” that stays on all surfaces for 35 days before reapplication is needed.
Publican Edward plans to reopen on July 15 and feels the method, carried out by local company Proclean Cleaners, will give customers the best chance of avoiding infection.
He said: “The firm has carried it out for various people such as nursing homes, Balfour Beatty, and other small tea rooms about the town.
“The people that come into the pubs are the older generation, it’s that sort of pub, between 60-80 years old.
“So it was basically to protect them and my staff even more, to take it to a higher level.
“To a level that is in line with the NHS and what their expectations are, give them over and above what is available.
“All the surfaces have got a protective film on it - beer taps, tables, seatings and bar are all coated.
“The AIC solution also goes into your air-con and that recycles the air.
“To have the place fogged, to have that process carried out it is another step to eliminate COVID-19.
“Because in the pubs it is optional if you want to wear a face mask and it is optional if staff want to wear a face mask.
“And they are on about putting protective screens up in pubs, but that is not going to protect you because if you sneeze it will hit off the screen and go anywhere it wants.”
Edward says AIC is not the only precaution he is taking.
“We have other measures and still have spray and there are sanitisers and door signs that say ‘one person in the toilet at a time’,” he told the Perthshire Advertiser.
“Had nurseries and primary schools been done with this treatment then I think the government wouldn’t have had to furlough people.
“It might have cost a bit to do but it would have been a big benefit to the whole country.
“If all tea rooms were done, if pubs were done, if restaurants were done, if buses were done I think people would have been able to go out earlier.
“We have done it so it is a safer environment and I would recommend it after seeing it.”