PEOPLE who visited the North and South Wales Bank pub in Wrexham between August 9 and 20 have been urged to be vigilant for the symptoms of coronavirus.

If customers develop symptoms, however mild, they should immediately self-isolate and apply for a Coronavirus test by visiting www.gov.wales/coronavirus, or by calling the national 119 phone service.

The advice, from Public Health Wales and Wrexham Council,follows the identification of three confirmed cases in staff at the pub.

There is no evidence at this stage of transmission to customers, and no outbreak has been declared.

The pub remains open for business.

Anyone who meets the definition of a direct contact of the affected staff will be contacted as a routine part of the Test, Trace and Protect process, and customers are being advised to be vigilant as a precautionary measure.

Dr Graham Brown, Consultant in Communicable Disease Control for Public Health Wales, said: “Public Health Wales is working with Wrexham Council to investigate three cases of Coronavirus in staff at the North and South Wales Bank pub in Wrexham.

“There is no evidence of transmission to customers at this stage, but we are advising anyone who visited the pub between 9 and 20 August to be vigilant for the symptoms of Coronavirus and to book a test straight away if symptoms occur.

“The identification of these cases is evidence that the Test, Trace, Protect strategy is working, and no outbreak has been declared.

“As we move through the recovery phase of the Coronavirus pandemic, we expect to see clusters in different settings. We manage any clusters of Coronavirus appropriately, including by providing advice around infection prevention and control, and by supporting contact tracing where required.

“We remind the public and business owners that Coronavirus is still circulating in the community. We all have a vital role in preventing the spread of Coronavirus by sticking to social distancing guidelines – that’s staying two metres away from others, and washing hands regularly.”

At the Welsh Government press briefing (Friday, August 21), First Minister Mark Drakeford was asked why, if the information was known on Monday, it took several days for the public to be informed.

Mr Drakeford said: "I struggle sometimes to keep up with the volume of information the Welsh Government publishes every single day on aspects of coronavirus.

"I am a believer in providing as much information as possible as early as we can to people in Wales." In relation to Wrexham, Mr Drakeford added: "In the Wetherspoons example, it does take a couple of days to make sure that an incident management team can be put together, that it can make sure its collecting the right information.

"The team met earlier this morning and will be publishing a press release later today, sending out the results on everything it has considered and the steps that will be taken from now on."

Yesterday, the pub chain confirmed the cases.

Spokesman for JD Wetherspoons Eddie Gershon said: “We can confirm that three members of staff have tested positive at the North and South Wales Bank in Wrexham.

“As a result a number of other staff are self-isolating as a precaution.

“All of the required controls are in place. All of the positive cases have been reported to Public Health Wales.

“We have discussed our operating plan with Public Health Wales and they do not require us to take any further action at this time. The Test, Trace and Protect information is available to the contact tracing team should they wish to use it.”