Health secretary Matt Hancock praises Gosport pub the Village Home which closed after drinker's coronavirus case - as another pub shuts as a precaution

HEALTH secretary Matt Hancock has praised a Gosport pub which chose to close after a drinker said they had possibly contracted coronavirus.
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On Monday The News reported that The Village Home in Alverstoke had closed for the week after being told about the suspected case.

In the House of Commons on Tuesday, Matt Hancock said that the voluntary closure – along with those of pubs across the country - was evidence that the test and trace system was working.

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Mr Hancock told MPs the pubs were ‘doing the right thing by their customers and by their communities’.

The Village Home pub in Village Road, Alverstoke
Picture: Sarah Standing (060720-1166)The Village Home pub in Village Road, Alverstoke
Picture: Sarah Standing (060720-1166)
The Village Home pub in Village Road, Alverstoke Picture: Sarah Standing (060720-1166)

‘This is NHS Test and Trace working precisely as intended,’ he added.

‘Three pubs shut so that others can be open.

The other pubs were the Lighthouse in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, and the Fox and Hounds in Batley, West Yorkshire.

It comes as two other pubs in Gosport, The Fighting Cocks in Clayhall Road and Park-Tavern Hotel in Park Road, have closed as a precaution.

Staying safe as lockdown easesStaying safe as lockdown eases
Staying safe as lockdown eases
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Fighting Cocks events manager Amie Jones said: ‘We haven’t had a confirmed case ourselves, but are doing this as a precaution.

‘The bottom line is that we have to keep everyone safe.

‘It is a shame to be closing so soon after the reopening, but we think this needs to be done.’

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The Fighting Cocks  in Gosport
Picture: Allan Hutchings (150203-928)The Fighting Cocks  in Gosport
Picture: Allan Hutchings (150203-928)
The Fighting Cocks in Gosport Picture: Allan Hutchings (150203-928)

Ms Jones said the reopening weekend at The Fighting Cocks was ‘steady’ but not overcrowded.

On Monday, The Village Home in Gosport said it had ‘had a case of coronavirus in the pub’, adding that ‘some of us are in isolation’.

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Its statement on Facebook said: ‘The pub is now shut but all being well will open again on Saturday. Anyone who was in the pub over the weekend there is no need to isolate unless you show symptoms or are contacted direct by the trace group. Thank you and hope to see you soon.’

Public Health England told The News that people only need to self-isolate if contacted by NHS Test and Trace, or if they display coronavirus symptoms themselves

Pubs in England were allowed to open on so-called ‘Super Saturday’ for the first time since March, as lockdown was eased for the hospitality industry.

Downing Street said the closure of the pubs showed ‘just how seriously pubs and the public are taking their responsibilities to keep others safe’.

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