Willenhall landlord praised for closing pub when relative caught coronavirus
Quick-thinking action by pub bosses has been praised for helping to stop the potential spread of Covid-19 in Willenhall.
The Three Tuns pub, in Walsall Road, was voluntarily closed when one of the owners discovered a relative had tested positive for the virus.
But their immediate response in alerting the authorities and tracing all their customers to urge them to get tested is being held up as an example of how businesses should respond.
Pub co-owner Ranj Singh said to date, results from all the tests taken by family members and customers had come back negative.
And he added the unnamed family member who had tested positive is now fully recovered.
The positive result emerged on July 30 when another relative who was due to go back to working in a hospital was given precautionary testing kits for the whole family.
The pub was closed for seven days after tests were carried out and was deep cleaned before it reopened last Thursday.
Mr Singh said: “We had to take quick action when we discovered the positive test so I contacted the authorities and we had a list of people who’d come into the pub who we have contacted, urging them to get tested too.
“We closed the pub ourselves and we isolated. The whole place has been sanitised and disinfected as a precaution and I’ve been in regular contact with Walsall Council and Public Health England.
“I think I have done everything right. I called it in and acted on it, doing all the necessary things and followed the guidelines and procedures.
“The good result is everyone has come back negative. Everyone is fine so perhaps we caught it early because of that initial test.
“We’ve paid for it by having to close but it’s about everyone else – we have elderly relatives and the customers to think about. You should always put other people before profits.”
Councillor Suky Samra, chairman of the licensing committee, praised Three Tuns bosses for their actions.
He said: “I want to thank the owners and management of the Three Tuns Public House in their diligence in coming forward when a positive test was returned and working with the council and Public Health England in ensuring that those who may have come in contact were traced and asked to isolate.
“Coronavirus is sadly here to stay for the foreseeable future and only working together can we stop it spreading.”
