Some Hamilton restaurants forced to close due to surge in COVID cases
At least three Hamilton establishments say they have had to temporarily close due to possible COVID infections among their staff.
Ancaster's Coach and Lantern and Bon Temps Restaurant on Young Street downtown both took to Instagram Tuesday to announce they would be shut down temporarily after staff members at both establishments had positive results on rapid tests.
In a social media post, the Coach and Lantern wrote it would be temporarily closed until at least Dec. 28, citing their staff and customers' health as their main concern" at this time.
It fears us knowing how contagious this new variant is, and would hate if unknowingly we were spreading this virus to others," read the post, which noted the possibility of multiple cases.
Bon Temps wrote in a post that it would be potentially shutting down" until Dec. 31 after one staff member tested positive using a rapid test. They also encouraged anyone who was in the restaurant between Dec. 16 and Dec. 18 to follow current public health recommendations and get tested.
The rest of the restaurant's staff members have had negative results on rapid tests, it wrote, but it is continuing to test them for the remainder of the week.
We have, and will continue to take public health very seriously, keeping the safety of our staff and (guests) our utmost priority," read the post.
James Street North bar Farside also remained closed Tuesday as it awaited COVID test results for a staff member that reported symptoms earlier this week.
Some businesses closing on their own
The number of Hamilton-area businesses that have decided to pre-emptively close for indoor dining and shopping as COVID infections surge across the province continues to grow each day.
MaiPai Tiki Bar, Martello, Undefined, PinToh Thai Cuisine, Lotus Thai and Vietnamese Cuisine and Pure Home Couture have all temporarily shut down citing reasons including growing health and safety concerns for staff as well as financial strain. They join Fairweather Brewery and MERIT Brewing, which have already closed their taprooms.
Martello, on James Street North, wrote in an Instagram post that while navigating the current situation - particularly when it comes to staff safety - we felt the weight of knowing we couldn't afford to just close."
There are bills to pay and the pandemic has already hurt us so much," it added in the Dec. 20 post. But then we realized there simply wouldn't be enough money coming in to pay for staff even if we did decide to keep going.
We aren't the only restaurant that can't afford to close, but also can't afford to stay open."
Fallon Hewitt is a reporter at The Spectator. fhewitt@thespec.com