Couple thrown out of restaurant because they had just returned from China: 'You’re not allowed in here'
A British man and his Asian wife were refused dinner by a Chinese restaurant over coronavirus fears shortly after they landed in the UK. Thirty-seven-year-old Matthew Moore and his wife Huang Quan Xiang, 32, flew in from Chengdu, where they live and work, last week. The couple went out for dinner less than 48 hours after their arrival, Metro reports.
Upon arriving at the restaurant, the couple told the owner they had just flown in from China. However, he allegedly walked over to their table just minutes later and "rudely" asked them to leave the premises.
According to Matthew and Xiang, the owner's reason was that they were potentially dangerous to others as they hadn't isolated themselves for 14 days after arriving in the UK.
"The owner was really impolite in the way he walked over and just told us to go away," said Matthew, who works as a teacher. "He just said out loud, 'I hope you’ve had two weeks of quarantine, or you’re not allowed to sit in here.'"
"There were other customers there and he spoke really loudly so that everyone could hear, it was really embarrassing," he added.
Matthew explained how he and his wife had self-isolated in China for a month before taking the flight to Britain, adding they underwent "numerous" screenings at the airport in China before leaving, and had another battery of tests after arriving at Heathrow.
"We told him about the checks and that we had already been quarantined for a month but he still wanted us to leave," Matthew said.
Meanwhile, Jacky, the owner of the restaurant, claims he was instructed to do what he did by a 111 phone operator who he called after the couple arrived at his Beijing Restaurant in Leyland, Lancashire.
"I told them they had to self-quarantine for 14 days coming from China," he said. "That’s what 111 told me and that’s how I understand it. There were other guests in the restaurant and they were getting quite concerned. I was nice about it, but I had to say I couldn’t serve them."
"It’s hard to turn down business. But we have a duty to protect our guests and our staff and I couldn’t put anyone at risk," Jacky added.
There is no government suggestion that people coming in from Chengdu, which is about 700 miles from coronavirus epicenter Wuhan, are required to self-isolate, as per the report.
Matthew bemoaned how he had brought his wife to the UK for the first time to show her where he grew up, but that the restaurant incident had "ruined the trip."
"She feels she has been shamed in public and since it happend she hasn’t wanted to go out," Matthew added. "The worst thing you can do in China is to shame someone in front of other people. That’s the lowest of the low. No one would ever do that to you in China."
The couple is currently staying with Matthew's parents in Leyland. They were also present when Matthew and Xiang were refused a meal at the restaurant. "I felt very sorry for my family, they felt angry. It was a bit unpleasant," Xiang said.