Wapentake Leeds restaurant forced to close after member of staff tests positive for coronavirus

Wapentake, in Kirkgate, announced the news on its Instagram page on Friday.

The restaurant will close until Friday, June 11 at 1pm as a "precautionary measure".

The team apologised to guests over the temporary suspension of service and assured them that they are following Public Health England s advice.

They told customers that if they are "deemed to be at risk", then Track and Trace will contact them directly.

The restaurant will be deep cleaned before reopening and all customers with bookings in the closed period are being contacted to make new ones.

Co-owner Lily Prescott said: "It's extremely disappointing that we have to close, especially given the weather and that we have only just opened inside.

"But, ultimately, the safety of our staff and customers is paramount so we are ensuring that we follow the correct procedures and will be getting a full Covid clean carried out by specialists before we open again."

The full statement posted on social media said: "To all of our wonderful guests, we are sorry to advise you that one of our staff members has tested positive for Covid-19 and, as a precautionary measure, we have temporarily suspended service following Public Health England's advice.

"We know this comes at a frustrating time as we were just welcoming you all back indoors, however the health and safety of our staff and our guests is absolutely paramount.

"We are working with Public Health England to follow the correct steps and a full deep clean will be carried out.

"If you are deemed to be at risk then Track and Trace will contact you directly.

"We will also be contacting you if you have a booking with us over the next week to rebook when we are back open.

"We will open our doors again on Friday June 11 at 1pm.

"We will be back to normal opening hours after this date.

"Thank you to all our customers for your continued support. Wapentake."