Aberdeen bar shut after visit from Covid-19 customer

An Aberdeen bar which was visited by a person who tested positive for coronavirus has closed.

Soul, which is situated on Union Street in the city, announced on Tuesday that the bar, along with all other sites owned by the PB Devco chain will close with immediate effect.

The company cited the “rapidy growing number of increased cases being reported” in the area as a factor in the decision.

It follows an outbreak at The Hawthorn Bar in Aberdeen city centre, which has reported 27 cases of coronavirus.

The bar has contact-traced 120 people following the outbreak.

At the First Minister’s briefing on Tuesday, it was confirmed there were 15 new cases of coronavirus in the NHS Grampian area.

Stuart Clarkson, owner and director of PB Devco, said: “In response to the ongoing Covid-19 situation in Aberdeen, and the rapidly growing number of increased cases being reported in the news, we have made the decision to close Soul and all the PB Devco venues with immediate effect until we feel safe to reopen.

“As soon as we heard someone who had tested positive had visited SOUL, we immediately sought advice and followed the guidance of the government, NHS and Track and Trace.

“However, we feel we now need to take the situation into our own hands to help limit the spread of the virus, as these are unprecedented times and things are escalating quickly.

“Unfortunately we do not have all the answers, despite our best efforts to source these. We are still awaiting confirmation on the next steps for our customers who have visited Soul this weekend, however we urge these people to seek their own advice too.

“We all need to work together, as quickly as possible, to protect our city, and as a family-run business local to Aberdeen, we take this very seriously.”