Broughty Ferry bank at centre of scare to reopen

A Broughty Ferry bank branch which shut suddenly amid Covid-19 fears will reopen again today after a staff member was given the all-clear.

The Clydesdale Bank branch on Gray Street shut in the early afternoon with a sign on the door stating the bank would “be open again as soon as we can”.

It read: “There has been a suspected case of coronavirus in this store so we have had to close.

“We’re doing everything possible to make the store safe for customers and colleagues and we’ll be open again as soon as we can.”

A few hours later it emerged the worker had tested negative for the virus and the bank confirmed it would reopen after the scare.

A crowd of people were seen outside the building, which operates under the joint Clydesdale Bank/ Virgin Money brand following a merger last year.

A Clydesdale spokesman said: “We take the safety of both customers and colleagues very seriously and have social-distancing measures in place throughout our store network to keep everyone safe.

“The Broughty Ferry store was closed while it received a deep clean.

“One of our colleagues had informed us that they were experiencing Covid-19 symptoms and that they would be getting tested. They have since tested negative.

“The store will open as usual tomorrow between 10am and 2pm.”

Scottish Conservative North East MSP Bill Bowman described the incident as “alarming” and praised the bank for doing the “correct thing” by closing.

He added: “This highlights all industries and not just the hospitality sector have to be mindful of the virus.”

“This highlights all industries and not just the hospitality sector have to be mindful of the virus.

BILL BOWMAN