Popular Bengaluru pub Toit in Indiranagar was temporarily closed down after eight of its staff members tested positive for the novel coronavirus. This comes a day after Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials had shut down another popular pub, 1522 - The Pub, on New BEL Road in the northern periphery of the city.

Speaking to TNM, Sibi Venkataraju, a director at pH4 Food & Beverages, which runs Bengaluru pubs, Toit and Permit Room, confirmed that eight of their staff members at Toit tested positive. Some of them will be moved to institutional quarantine facilitates, while they have special accommodation for others. All the eight are asymptomatic requiring no regular medical attention, he said. 

“We have shut the pub now to sanitise, all employees and others are isolating,” he said.  

The person said that the employees have tested as part of the routine procedure of testing all staff once a week. 

The proprietor also runs Permit Room, another popular joint in Bengaluru. He said that the establishment is operational and following COVID-19 guidelines. None of those staff members have tested positive. 

On Monday, at least 16 staff members of 1522, The Pub in Mathikere tested positive for the coronavirus out of a total of 87 employees who were tested. The pub was closed after the cases were reported, BBMP commissioner Manjunath Prasad told TNM. 

Currently, there are 29 active clusters in the city, with new clusters identified on March 29. The BBMP is conducting random testing of employees in hotels, restaurants and pubs in the city.