A PUB has cancelled all its Christmas bookings after several staff members contracted Covid.

The Roundhill in Ditchling Road, Brighton, announced that it will close until the new year to "put the safety of our customers before profits".

Its cafe, Needlemakers, and restaurant, Kokedama, both in West Street, Lewes, will also be shut.

Max Aben, owner of The Roundhill, said that the move to close the venues was a "difficult decision, but the right decision".

"With any business, you obviously need to be able to afford to run but, at the same time, our business strives from having a team that works for each other with an ethos that the safety of our customers and team goes above anything else," he said.

Max said that, while the holiday season is normally their busiest time of the year, the "huge" amount of cancellations has made trade "not that different to any other month."

He said: "It's the big bookings and the larger groups that have been cancelling - as soon as one person can't make it, then the whole table will cancel.

"This should be our month that will carry us over the quieter months of January, February and March, and it won't do that.

"I can see that many businesses are going to fold because of this."

He believed that, with the speed of people catching the virus due to the Omicron variant, made him think that this situation could come at some point.

Max said: "I just didn't think it would be so soon. We also wanted to make sure that everyone would be able to see their families this Christmas, rather than how it was last year."

He added that staff will still get holiday pay that they have accrued and would ensure all staff would be "looked after" financially while the venues are closed.

Max said: "Anyone who doesn't have any holiday pay, we will make sure there's enough funds in place for them not to go without money for Christmas. We don't want anyone not to be able to buy presents or eat."

The news comes after the chief medical officer for England, Chris Whitty, urged the public to cut back on social gatherings ahead of Christmas and "prioritise" meetings and events that matter most.

Max called on the government to step in and provide urgent support for the hospitality sector and suggested the furlough scheme should be brought back.

He said: "We're in the same situation that we were at the start of the pandemic, when the Prime Minister said pubs are open but don't go to them.

"Businesses are in a Catch-22 because, without government support, they have the same bills and the same staff costs they need to pay."

Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas has also called on greater support for the hospitality sector amid a wave of cancellations ahead of Christmas, to ensure businesses have a "lifeline so they know they can survive into the New Year and beyond."

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