Birmingham restaurant slapped with council order after being linked to five Covid-19 cases

A Birmingham restaurant linked to at least five cases of Covid-19 has become the first in the city to receive a direction order, under new powers granted to the council last week.

The Tipu Sultan restaurant was issued with an order on Thursday after the council received about 25 reports of events for more than 30 people being hosted at the venue.

An inspection at the site also found that the restaurant had failed to implement safety measures detailed within its risk assessment, including not enforcing social distancing.

Head of environmental health, Mark Croxford said: "Numerous reports have been made to the council, the police and local councillors that events are being held at Tipu Sultan with significantly more people than the government guidance of a maximum of 30 in any one party.

"As a result, at least five confirmed cases of coronavirus have been linked to the premises over a period of four weeks. A direction order was necessary in order to protect against the spread of coronavirus."

The order will require the restaurant to restrict entry, not allow bookings of more than 30 people and implement a booking system that prevents queueing. Failure to comply with the order could see a fixed penalty notice issued, or the restaurant being closed.

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