Capital bars in closure threat over poor social distancing

FIVE bars in Cardiff city centre have been threatened with closure if they do not make better efforts to enforce social distancing.

Cardiff council has given Coyote Ugly, along with Peppermint, Mocka Lounge, Rum and Fizz, and Gin and Juice just 48 hours to make changes to the way they operate.

The improvement notices followed shocking scenes of scores of people in a queue for Coyote Ugly on Friday night.

Health officials from Cardiff council visited the bar on Saturday morning following the emergence on social media of video footage showing customers failing to social distance while queueing to enter the venue.

If the council is not satisfied by the changes the five venues make, then they could face closure.

Councillor Michael Michael, the cabinet member for environment, said: “It is the responsibility of businesses to ensure that social distancing is maintained and their premises can be used in a way that is safe for customers and staff and minimises the potential for Covid-19 to spread.

“Ensuring the city centre is safe to visit is a priority and scenes like those seen on St Mary Street at the weekend are simply unacceptable.

“Businesses should be in no doubt that we will take action against any premises that aren’t operating in a safe manner.

“Officers will be returning to the businesses issued with improvement notices, and visiting others across the city, and will not hesitate to issue closure notices if needed.”

The footage, which was captured by Ian Cottrell on lower St Mary Street, caused consternation from Dr Giri Shankar, the incident director at Public Health Wales.

He has called for people to be responsible, telling BBC Radio Wales: “I saw the videos and I was really concerned.

“It is disappointing that people are congregating in large numbers without having any regard to social distancing. It’s more about people taking more individual and collective responsibilities. We all have to do our part.”

The council added Coyote Ugly had “acted quickly to resolve a number of identified issues” following a visit over the weekend.

Officers from South Wales Police also spoke with staff at the venue on Friday evening, hitting back at claims that officers had simply stood by and watched.