An urgent task force has been called for to be assembled by Staffordshire County Council to visit pubs and restaurants around the county by Stone Rural County Councillor, Ian Parry.
Aiming to offer clear advice and remind owners and managers of the risks of ignoring the essential precautions necessary during the Covid-19 crisis following the recent outbreak in Stone, the County Councillor claims that the impact has been significant on the town and may cause people to lose confidence.
He says: “It is clear that other hospitality venues across the county that are flaunting the rules and putting people at risk, which could create further outbreaks.
“I have written to the County Council Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care to call for an urgent task force to be created including Public Health, Trading Standards and partners from Environmental Health to enable visits to be made to premises causing concern to remind owners and managers of their responsibilities and provide advice where necessary. In extreme cases, premises that ignore the rules may also need police intervention”.
Ian Parry says that an extremely urgent and robust response is now vital to protect public health and restore confidence that it is safe to visit pubs and restaurants where the proper protection, physical distancing and track and trace facilities are in place.
“I want to reassure people that visiting, shopping and eating in our towns, like Stone is safe and I am expecting the County Council to take a lead to intervene where hospitality businesses are not being compliant.
