The Pret A Manger inside Kingston railway station closed its doors on Monday after an increase in COVID cases among its staff, and remained closed on Tuesday.
A barista working in another of Kingston’s three branches of Pret confirmed that the chain coffee shop would keep its doors closed until further notice because of staff members hit by COVID-19.
“Discontinuing [Pret’s] services was a responsible choice to make,” said an elderly passenger who wanted to stay anonymous. “With the winter in front of us, we have to rethink how to mitigate the crisis that might be ahead of us.”
The closure came as the UK recorded a daily Covid case rate of 39,705, with 269,802 people testing positive in the previous seven days. The UK recorded 364.6 cases per 100,000 as of November 10.
In Kingston, 684 people received a positive test result between 9 November and 15 November, an increase of 31.1 per cent compared to the previous seven days.
