Edinburgh’s Victoria Bar makes decision to close after customer tests positive for coronavirus

Leith Walk bar takes precautionary measures, with staff in self-isolation, after being informed late on Saturday evening that punter tested positive for Covid-19.

An Edinburgh bar has made a decision to shut its doors after a customer tested positive for coronavirus.

Anna Lagerqvist Christopherson, owner of the Victoria Bar on Leith Walk, told the Evening News the premises had to close after a punter informed them he had Covid-19.

According to Ms Christopherson, the customer had recently returned from a holiday in Malta – and it's thought he may have become infected there.

Victoria Bar on Leith Walk has been forced to close its doors after a customer tested positive for Covid-19.

Only a handful of customers were in the Victoria Bar at the same time as the infected customer, who isn’t believed to have visited any other bars or restaurants.

Ms Christopherson said: “I made the decision to close the bar.

“We found out at midnight last night that there had been someone with a case at the bar on Friday afternoon.

“The bar was quiet and the person had been to Malta, where it's suspected they contracted the virus.

"The customer had a mask on, so hopefully that will have helped prevent the spread.”

Ms Christopherson added that the customer was in Victoria Bar between 4:45pm and 6pm on Friday, and that he didn’t visit anywhere else.

“Now we have decided to self-isolate,” she continued. “There were only four people working on Friday.

"The person that was working when the customer was in the bar obviously needs to be tested now – but we’re also thinking we need to close until we get the results of that test.

"This kind of thing is going to keep on happening, for sure, so we just need to learn how to deal with it.”

The Victoria Bar are now waiting to be contacted by NHS Trace and Protect.

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