Pub customers ‘may have to leave details in guest book for tracing’
DRINKERS AT pubs and bars in England may have to leave their names and contact details in a guest book so they can be swiftly traced if they come into contact with a punter who tests positive for coronavirus.
Officials are understood to be looking at the measure in order to fulfil the ambition of reopening the hospitality sector as early as July 4 and aid the NHS test and trace programme.
Diners leaving their contact details at restaurants when making reservations could also play a role in helping tracers track down possible cases so they can selfisolate for 14 days.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said no decision on the guest books had been made but said it was being considered, as well as customers being encouraged to order drinks through apps.
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“That’s the sort of thing we’re looking at for how do you make it safe to open things,” he told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday.
“And things like wearing a face mask which reduces the transmission clearly, about how the seating is arranged because face to face is much more dangerous than back to back and there’s more transmission than side to side.”
The proposal would enhance the ability of contact tracers to track down individuals who an infected person has come into contact with. “This is something they’ve done in New Zealand and what happens is you simply ensure that when you take a restaurant booking, for instance, when somebody tests positive and have been in that venue in proximity you will be able to contact the people who might be at risk,” Mr Hancock told the BBC.
Last week, the landlady of a popular Leeds pub said ‘unimaginable debt’ led her to make an emotional fundraising appeal amid fears she may have to permanently close the business.
Nicola Storey, who has run the Mustard Pot in Chapel Allerton for 14 years, fears her business will be gone within months due to the Covid-19 crisis.