Takeaway forced to close after worker ignored self-isolation rules
A Staffordshire restaurant operating as a takeaway was forced to close after a person working there should have been self-isolating at home.
Police and environmental health officers from Cannock Chase Council visited the Indian Smokehouse and Grill, in Hednesford, on Tuesday.
It came after the person working there had been instructed to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace after someone they lived with had tested positive for coronavirus.
But the person ignored the advice and continued to work. The Indian Smokehouse and Grill was issued with a coronavirus immediate restriction notice ordering it to close immediately.
The takeaway has now been allowed to reopen after it was deemed "there is no longer a threat to public health".
In a Facebook post on Cannock Chase Life, which is run by Cannock Chase District Council, the local authority said: "Indian Smokehouse & Grill in Hednesford. On Tuesday the council issued a Coronavirus Immediate Restriction Notice on the above takeaway forcing it to close.
"Environmental Health Officers visited and found a person working there when they should have been at home isolating. The person had been instructed to isolate by NHS Test & Trace after someone they lived with tested positive.
"An Environmental Health Officer returned today [Friday] to inspect the takeaway and was satisfied that there is no longer a threat to public health and it can now reopen with routine measures in place to protect staff and customers.
"Cannock Police have issued the person with a fixed penalty, and no other businesses in Hednesford were involved in the incident.
"It is vital that anyone instructed to isolate does so in order to stop further spread of Covid-19, especially when around a third of people with the virus do not have any symptoms. It is an offence to fail to isolate, and the fixed penalty can be up to £4,000."