NHS Highland has become aware of a case of COVID-19 in a staff member from Gelato Burger Restaurant in Oban. The individual is isolating at home as per national guidelines.
No other cases of illness have been reported in staff members. The national guidance for contact tracing has been followed and, following this, a number of staff members have been identified as close contacts. These close contacts have been followed up and have been advised to self-isolate for 14 days. As a precautionary measure, testing is being arranged for those identified as close contacts.
Argyll and Bute Council’s Environmental Health team is working with the business which has voluntarily closed meantime. This work will be ongoing to support the business and ensure that it is able to reopen in the future.
A multi-agency Problem Assessment Group (PAG) meeting involving NHS Highland, Argyll and Bute Council and Health and Social Care Partnership met this morning to further risk assess the situation and agree any additional actions.
The restaurant did have measures in place for taking customer contact details to support NHS Scotland’s Test and Protect service but we are not currently contacting customers. We believe that the risk to customers and to the wider public from this situation is very low. The main transmission route of COVID-19 is direct human to human contact. The member of staff works in the kitchen and has not been at work since Sunday 19 July. There is currently no evidence that food is a source of COVID-19 and it is very unlikely that it can be transmitted through the consumption of food.
We would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that the virus can recur even in rural communities and so everyone should continue to adhere to physical distancing guidelines, wear a face-covering when in enclosed spaces, clean your hands and surfaces regularly and immediately self-isolate if you develop symptoms.
Further information:
Advice for businesses on how to operate safely is available on the Argyll and Bute Council’s website.