Gerard Arms closes after staff member tests positive for coronavirus

The Dentons Green Lane pub has been closed since Monday, with a sign on the door reading "Closed due to Covid cleaning".

The pub says it decided to take "swift action" to temporarily close the premises as a precaution after one of its team tested positive.

Other staff members will now also be tested.

The pub says it has followed government guidelines on what to do in such a scenario and will reopen once satisfied it is safe to do so.

The Greene King pub reopened on Monday, July 6 following the coronavirus lockdown which had ordered the closure of all drinking establishments in March.

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A spokesperson for the Gerard Arms said to the Star: “We have taken swift action after one of our team received a positive test result for COVID-19 and have followed all the government guidelines on what to do in this scenario.

"We decided to temporarily close the pub as a precaution to allow a deep clean to take place and to allow other team members to take tests.

"We have a number of social distancing measures in place in our pub as well as rigorous hygiene and cleanliness routines as part of our Pub Safe promises to teams and customers.

"We will be reopening once we are satisfied that it is safe to do so.”

The pub has also posted a statement on its Facebook page today in which it says it has the contact details of customers should the Test and Trace team require them.

The statement said: "We appreciate this is concerning news but would like to reassure you that we have a number of social distancing measures in place in our pub as well as rigorous hygiene and cleanliness routines as part of our Pub Safe promises to teams and customers.

"We have the contact details of people who have visited here at the pub should the NHS Test & Trace team require them and we will update on a reopening date once we are satisfied that we can reopen safely."