Four Sheffield pubs CLOSED after customers found singing, dancing, hugging and kissing

They were issued with prohibition notices after council officers witnessed numerous examples of people flouting guidelines over the weekend of September 19 and 20, including loud music, singing, dancing, large groups and hugging and kissing.

Pen Nook at Deepcar, Pack Horse Inn at Chapeltown, Malin Bridge Inn near Hillsborough, Sport Shack at Hillsborough, and Chicken Stop in the city centre were given the notices by Sheffield Council, which said the businesses had failed to comply with the coronavirus regulations and guidance, ‘creating a serious health and safety risk’.

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Greg Fell, Sheffield’s director of public health, said: “We don’t want to do this: this is a last resort but some places are just not getting the message to act safely and prevent further spread of the virus. If we do not take measures such as these then we could end up in an even worse position.

“Rates have been steadily increasing in Sheffield over recent weeks, we have university students coming into the city this week, and we must do all we can to ensure people follow the guidance and safety advice from ourselves and our partners in the NHS and government.

"We want residents and visitors to be able to enjoy the city, but in a safe and responsible way. I understand people’s frustrations about how long this has gone on for and that people want to see the end of it, but that will not happen unless we all adhere to the guidance, including the new rule of six.”

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The council said enforcement officers witnessed numerous breaches, including a lack of control of customers, too few staff, lack of door supervision, loud music, singing, dancing, groups of more than 6, lack of social distancing, people mingling between groups hugging and kissing as well as people standing at the bar, an apparent lack of table service, and no mechanism for gathering track and trace information.

It said it was continuing to support premises to operate safely during the pandemic and most businesses had ‘done their bit for the city to keep people safe well’.

Mr Fell added: “Intelligence tells us that the vast majority of premises are working with us and working really hard to create safe environments for their customers, and we are grateful for their efforts but I cannot stress the seriousness of the situation we are in. The purpose of the rules is to protect us all; Covid-19 is a dangerous respiratory disease which can spread quickly. We all need to do our bit to stop the spread.”

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The prohibition notices come as prime minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce new rules ordering pubs, bars and restaurants across England to close by 10pm each night in an attempt to slow the spread of coronavirus.

In Sheffield, there were 272 confirmed cases of Covid-19 during the week ending September 18 – a weekly infection rate of 46.5 cases per 100,000 people, which is slightly down on the rate of 53.9 over the previous seven days.

Information for businesses about the support available can be found here.