Follow rules or we’ll close you, pubs and restaurants warned

PUBS and restaurants have been warned they will be forced to close again if they do not follow strict coronavirus rules.

Nicola Sturgeon yesterday said she has heard reports of some failing to follow rules introduced to allow them to reopen following lockdown.

Examples include inadequate cleaning, staff failing to wear face masks and contact details of customers not being taken.

Miss Sturgeon said: ‘Compliance in the hospitality sector has generally been good and I am grateful to everyone for that.

‘Ensuring even better co-operation and even better compliance is in the interests of all of us – government, customers and, of course, the sector itself.

‘If we do start to see outbreaks linked to the hospitality sector, we would need to take action and that could include closing premises down again. Nobody wants that to happen, so I want to send a message to everyone in the sector today – these guidelines aren’t just for the first few weeks, they must become the norm and you cannot allow standards to slip.’

She urged people not to visit premises which fail to take contact details or make clear the guidance on distancing.

Miss Sturgeon added: ‘All of us, businesses and individuals, have a role to play here in making sure compliance is high, that standards are high and we are not giving this virus the opportunity to spread because standards are slipping.’

She said the majority were following the rules but that ‘we do know anecdotally of some instances of guidance being breached’.