Couple thrown out of Chinese restaurant over coronavirus fears

A couple were ejected from a Chinese restaurant in the UK over coronavirus fears. Photo / 123RF

A British man is furious after he and his Chinese wife were refused a meal in a restaurant and asked to leave over coronavirus fears.

Matthew Moore and wife Huang Quan Xiang went for dinner last week less than 48 hours after arriving in the UK from the city of Chengdu, where they both live.

But within minutes of arriving at the Chinese restaurant in Leyland, Lancashire, they were "rudely" asked to leave by the owner who found out they hadn't self-isolated after flying in from China.

However, the couple claims they had already self-isolated in China for a month, undergoing all necessary checks as they arrived in the UK.

"The owner was really impolite in the way he walked over and just told us to go away," said Moore.

"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."

Covid

The restaurant owner, named Jacky, claims he called health authorities after the couple arrived and believes he followed the right process.

He claims he told the couple they had to self-isolate for 14 days because that is what the health authorities advised him to say.

Jacky also claims other guests in the restaurant were "getting quite concerned", saying he has a duty to protect guests, staff and "I couldn't put anyone at risk".

The couple's trip to the UK was Xiang's first time in the UK.

Moore says he wanted to show his wife where he had grown up but feels the trip is now ruined.

"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."