Coronado Restaurants Temporarily Close After Employees Test Positive For COVID-19

Three Coronado restaurants are temporarily closing their doors after reporting cases of their employees contracting COVID-19. The Henry, High Tide Bottle Shop and Kitchen, and McP’s Irish Pub have all had employee’s test positive, and will close temporarily in order to follow San Diego County Health Department orders.

The major points within current guidelines that are in place as stated by the California Department of Public Health are as follows: The restaurant should notify their local health department about any suspected or confirmed positive cases. They should provide their local health department with a roster of their employees and then begin testing, and “the employer is responsible for ensuring all employees are offered or provided testing.” The restaurant should conduct contact tracing and quarantining of people in close contact with the affected persons. (More information can be found on the California Department of Public Health’s website.)

The San Diego County’s Department of Environmental Health (DEH) also released a list of instructions to all food facilities, which was then shared on social media. First, they are instructed to notify the DEH of the case. Then, they should self close to conduct a deep disinfection of the establishment. Finally, they should determine if any staff was in close contact with the affected persons, and handle the situation accordingly.

The Henry released a statement on social media explaining their situation on Monday, July 6. A number of community members had concerns after hearing that The Henry had a possible Covid-19 positive employee that they hadn’t reported to the San Diego Health Department from another social media post. In their statement, they apologized for their lack of transparency, and confirmed that they did have an employee test positive in the past week. They explained, “We know the employee’s health care provider has notified the Health Department and that we, as employers, are not required to do so.” Furthermore, The Henry said that they called the San Diego Health Department who encouraged voluntary notification, and that they will commit to doing so in the future if a similar situation arises.

Despite the mistake in communication, The Henry assured the public that they took the necessary steps to make sure the restaurant was safe for all guests and employees. They said, “We went through our entire protocol for a COVID exposure the night after we became aware one of our employees was COVID positive. This includes third-party sanitation of the restaurant, contacting all employees before they returned to work to make sure we knew who had CDC defined exposure to the COVID employee and making sure all employees had access to testing at our cost, regardless of exposure.”

Unfortunately since then another employee at The Henry has tested positive for Covid-19, they were last in the restaurant on Thursday, July 2. Due to this, The Henry will be closed until they can complete their protocols to ensure that the restaurant is properly cleaned and safe for customers and staff. They ended their statement by saying, “These are challenging times. We are learning how to do this better each day. Thank you for making us better. We hope to regain your trust and serve you again soon.”

High Tide Bottle Shop & Kitchen (High Tide) released a statement on a social media post on Monday, July 6. They confirmed that they had a staff member test positive for COVID-19, and that they will be closing for the next 48 hours in order to follow protocols put in place by the San Diego Health Department regarding sanitation and testing. They assured their customers that they would keep them updated saying, “We will keep you posted. Please follow the rules! It’s important! We care about you!”

McP’s Irish Pub also released a statement on social media on Tuesday, July 7. They explained similarly that a member of their staff had tested positive for COVID-19, and that they will also be closing in order to follow San Diego Health Department guidelines. They ended their statement saying, “Be safe out there and follow what is recommended, let’s all be part of the solution! See you all soon!”