Covid 19

The new Government guide requires the following

1. Customers to leave contact details when they visit in case of an outbreak – We recommend our customers book a table from www.fivebellswickham.co.uk for dining and drinking visits, so that we have your visit details, as well as manage the number of people visiting at once to avoid overcrowding. Booking from the link above takes a couple of minutes, does not cost us anything in booking fees and you can add a message if you’re simply visiting for just drinks. We will also ask you to check in on the day via text message service.

2. Standing by the bar is not currently permitted except. You are permitted to stand outside the premises to consume your drink, if within the premises it is recommended you are sat down at a table which have been set 1 metre plus apart. We ask parents that children remain seated at the table. We ask customers that visit us with their pet to keep them by their table on a lead. We can bring large drinks orders near to your table in a tray for you to collect.

3. Celebrating, dining or drinking tables have been limited to a maximum number of 25 guests inside the pub, from 2 households or tables of 6 from multiple households. As we are running at a reduced capacity your booking will be restricted to 2-2.5 hours per table to ensure we can accommodate other guests too. We thank you for your understanding.

4. Restroom facilities are to be restricted to one-in-one-out to ensure everyone keeps their distance. Please respect this rule and other customers. We appreciate this might be difficult but it’s crucial we all do our bit. Please use hand gels provided and you practice hand washing as regularly as possible and follow our house rules to help stop the spread.

5. Please respect the one-way system in place. The entrance is located at the front of the building. Please use the hand gel when entering the building. The Exit is located at the French doors to the garden, please allow others to exit from the garden should anyone else be near the exit.

6. Please ask our waiting staff to take your order at your table (indoors or outdoors) to minimise movement. Please do not clear away glasses as our staff will do that.

7. You can pay with cash however we are encouraging contactless or card payments at this time.

8. Please be respectful of our staff as we have a difficult task in our hand to provide great service as well as ensure we keep everyone safe.

9. Should yourself or a member of your family or a friend you have been in contact with recently starts showing Covid-19 symptoms as listed in the NHS website, please report this immediately to a member of our team and we recommend you self-isolate immediately as per NHS guidelines.

10. Please help us maintain these safety guidelines by ensuring you follow social distancing guidelines for your safety, others around you and our staff.

We hope you understand that we are going to be extremely strict with this policy and urge customers to co-operate for the greater good.

Thank you

The spread of Coronavirus (Covid-19) remains a concern for us all and we are keen to keep communicating with the community regarding response and planning. For us, as for everyone, recent events have led us into uncharted territory – it is hard to predict future impact, but we will continue to follow these guidelines whilst exercising extreme caution.

From Wednesday 1st July we will be checking staff temperatures upon arrival and at different points throughout the day. If our staff displays or develops either a new continuous cough or a high temperature 37.8 + then we will be asking staff to leave immediately in order to self-isolate for 7 days.

We routinely practice high standards of infection control. We are committed to reducing the risk by ensuring effective hygiene practices are in place for both children and staff and we encourage full participation in these practices;

• Staff will have the option to wear protective face covering while working
• Wash hands frequently with soap, especially before eating or handling food, after toilet visits, or when hands are contaminated by respiratory secretions after coughing or sneezing.
• Cover their mouth and nose with a tissue when sneezing or coughing and to discard the tissue immediately into a bin.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces, tables, chairs and equipment regularly and when contaminated by nasal or oral secretions.
• Ensure supplies such as hand soap, hand sanitiser, tissues and paper towels are available for customer and staff’s use. Please help us by using the handwashing/ sanitising stations at the front doors and throughout the setting.
• Wash all crockery, glassware and utensils at high degree temperatures.
• Please help us by not taking home hand sanitisers provided for the use of customers and staff.

Our staff will continue to follow these procedures. Further training measures will be in place for staff.

With immediate effect we are introducing some additional temporary measures: cancellation of future planned events, thorough cleaning of surfaces where contact has/might have been made including door handles, chairs, under the table edges.

As always, we remain vigilant in ensuring regular thorough cleaning is carried out daily and our housekeeping is effective.

What will we do if we have a confirmed case of COVID-19 at the Five Bells?

If we were to have a confirmed case of COVID-19, we would be contacted by the local Public Health England Health Protection Team to discuss the case, identify people who have been in contact with them and advise on any actions or precautions that should be taken. The Health Protection Team would undertake an assessment of our setting and issue advice on the management of customers and staff based on this assessment. We hope that closure of the setting would be unnecessary but Public Health England would have final say and at this point the decision would be taken out of our hands.

Front of house and back of house staff

Our staff team will be subject to the same rigorous policy as the customers visiting us. If a staff member were to experience a high temperature 37.8+ and/or new continuous cough, they would be asked to self-isolate immediately for a minimum of 7 days.

We sincerely hope we will not find ourselves in a position where continuing to operate is critically compromised due to ill-health / self-isolation of multiple staff members but if this were the case options we could consider are:

• Flexible / reduced hours
• Suspension of planning near future events
• Cancellation of events and/or bookings where possible or necessary

In the event of a regional closure we will of course continue to respect and abide by Government and Public Health England dictates. For a longer closure we will have to see what Government support measures, if any, are in place but our main priority will be to protect the solvency of the Five Bells and to have our staff team’s best interests at heart.

I would also like to reassure you that we continue to plan and review here at the Five Bells as this challenging situation evolves.

Thank you, once again, for your continued understanding and co-operation during difficult circumstances.