Worthing bar forced to close and deep clean after holidaymakers 'break coronavirus quarantine'

On Saturday (September 5), rumours began circulating on social media that a group of holidaymakers visited Escape Bar and Grill in Marine Parade after recently returning from a country on the quarantine list.

Owner Stefan Whittington said he 'found out the hard way' after spotting the Facebook posts, but immediately closed the bar and set the track and trace system in motion.

The bar underwent a deep clean, he said, including a 'defogging', and all staff members were tested for coronavirus - none came back positive.

All customers who had attended at the same time as the group in question were also contacted, in line with the track and trace system.

With businesses already suffering from the affects of lockdown and social distancing, Stefan said he could not believe the selfishness of anybody who breached quarantine rules.

"It's already been a bit stressful and this has not come at an ideal time," he said.

"It was hard enough anyway, prior to this, but I can't believe individuals would do this. I didn't think this would happen to us, but we were prepared."

Stefan said the customers in question had been outside on the terrace, and restrictions already in place at Escape meant no more than one person per party can go up to the bar.

In a statement on Facebook today (September 10), Escape Bar and Grill said Public Health England and the Track and Trace department confirmed nobody with a confirmed case of coronavirus had visited the bar, up to today.

"This means that not a single person receiving a positive Covid-19 result has ever given the Escape Bar and Grill name as a place that they have visited to the test and trace team," said the statement.

Public health authorities have now taken over the case, the statement said, as the bar prepares to reopen today.

The statement continued: "So we move forward and we are overwhelmingly happy that our team and guests are inform and safe! Our team have also been tested for their own peace of minds and all have come back negative! So in this extra time, my brave team rolled up their sleeves and scrub the place, from top to bottom! Added with some fogging from First Call Commercial & Domestic Cleaning and we feel that the place feels extra clean and fresh!

"With new guidelines come into effect from Monday, and as always we will be ensuring we are creating a safe environment for our team and guests.

"We thank everyone who has reached out to support us and we hope to see you soon, as we are back open for business from today."

All Escape's staff wear masks or have screens to protect them and a queuing system ensures social distancing during the evening trade, according to the bar's Facebook page.

It also provides sanitisation stations and sanitiser in the bathrooms and only one member from each group can go to the bar at one time.

There are also strict policies with customers integrating with other groups. Professional cleaners also clean the venue thoroughly every weekend, while staff clean the furniture hourly and between every group of customers.