A RESTAURANT has been forced to close its doors after six members of staff tested positive for Covid-19.

The Miller and Carter restaurant, on High Road, Langdon Hills, closed on Saturday following the outbreak and will not be re-opening until “later next week”.

Bosses confirmed six members of staff tested positive after working a shift together.

The remainder of the team are undergoing coronavirus tests and self-isolating.

A spokesman from Miller and Carter, said: “As per our Government approved safety protocols, our team members provide daily health checks and are being asked to monitor their symptoms closely.

“We took the decision to temporarily close the Langdon Hills Miller and Carter on Saturday to enable our team members displaying symptoms of coronavirus to follow the appropriate public health guidance and self-isolate.

“We can confirm six team members from one shift have tested positive and the remainder have been tested and are self-isolating.

“We have since conducted a review of all those affected and carried out a deep clean of the premises.”

Kerry Smith, deputy leader of Basildon Council, praised the restaurant for their swift action.

He said: “You can see why they closed and it’s good to see the managers have thought about customer safety.

“If anyone ate there when they had the virus, what are they doing? Have they been contacted by track and trace? Are their children going back to school?

“People are relying on these jobs, the system needs to be up to scratch. The Government can’t keep mucking up the tests.

“It’s all ifs buts and maybes, they need to have been contacted.”

The spokesman from Miller and Carter added: “We’d like to reassure our guests we are taking this very seriously and that we are closely monitoring the situation with the team.

“Since reopening we’ve successfully introduced new robust safety protocols at the restaurant, including frequent cleaning of all surfaces and new table layouts to ensure guests can social distance within the restaurant.

“We will be working closely with Public Health England to fully support their track and trace efforts.

“The restaurant will remain temporarily closed and we plan to reopen later next week.”