Luxury hotel boss: Staff should come to work even if they have COVID

A luxury hotel boss has said his staff should still come to work even if they have coronavirus.

Sir Rocco Forte said his workers who test positive for COVID-19 but have no symptoms should report for duty.

His comments on Monday came as prime minister Boris Johnson announced an end to all legal COVID restrictions.

From Thursday, the requirement to self-isolate for up to 10 days after a positive test will be scrapped. Free mass testing will halt from the beginning of April.

Read more: Only 17% of people think Boris Johnson should scrap COVID isolation laws

Sir Rocco, a Brexiteer and Conservative Party donor who was born in Dorset gave £100,000 to its 2019 general election campaign and threw a victory party for Johnson costing £12,000 at Brown’s hotel in London, which he owns.

Rocco Forte Hotels also owns The Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh, as well as a number of hotels in Europe.

Sir Rocco told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme on Monday that his staff should still come to work in his hotels even if they have COVID-19.

“If the reality of this is that we’re saying that COVID isn’t a pandemic any more, it’s an endemic disease and like flu, it should be treated like flu,” he said.

Watch: What is Boris Johnson’s ‘living with Covid’ plan?

“And therefore you don’t test every worker who falls ill with flu. You tell people to stay at home if they’re not feeling well.”

When asked if a worker who tests positive for coronavirus but feels well should come to work, he answered: “Yes, I would say that.”

Sir Rocco criticised Johnson and his government, saying he could not see himself voting Conservative again unless there is a “complete change of tack”.

He said he was unhappy with the government’s approach to COVID-19 restrictions and tax.

“My disappointment with the prime minister and this government is it’s not acting as a Conservative government,” he said.

“Instead of reducing regulations, increasing it, instead of lowering taxes, it’s increasing them.

“As a lot of businesses who’ve suffered heavily through the pandemic and have become more heavily indebted as a result are facing increased national insurance costs and increased corporate taxes, and it’s completely the wrong way to approach the situation.”

Asked whether he had stopped donating to the party he said: “Well, I mean, you don’t donate every five minutes to the party.”

Asked whether it was on pause he said: “Yes. I’d like to see a complete change of tack by this government and if it doesn’t change tack then I won’t be even interested in voting for them.”