It seems, if you have enough money and live in a celebrity bubble, you can delude yourself and ignore Covid-19 restrictions lesser mortals are required to follow. This delusion can also be passed onto a restaurant if you have pockets deep enough to entice transmission.
Casa Cruz restaurant in London’s Notting Hill entered into the national limelight last weekend for hosting a Covid busting birthday party during national lockdown for pop star Rita Ora.
Following news of the pop star’s birthday shenanigans Ora issued what she referred to as a ‘sincere’ public apology and voluntarily paid a fine of £10,000 to the local council, The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
The aftermath however is now looking like the Casa Cruz restaurant will pay a high price for endangering the health of party goers and staff.
Local residents and many others from further afield have now posted so much disdain on Google, Tripadvisor, and social media channels that Tripadvisor was forced to switch off reviews.
TripAdvisor paused reviews with a message saying: “Due to a recent event that has attracted media attention and has caused an influx of review submissions that do not describe a first-hand experience, we have temporarily suspended publishing new reviews for this listing.”
Whilst the publicity will undoubtedly deter diners who want to dine our safely from visiting Casa Cruz, the infamy will undoubtedly attract some who know no better than to follow Ora’s example.
It seems that Casa Cruz is open and taking bookings from those unaware of recent events or who see Rita Ora’s example as one to follow. Maybe health and safety regulations in the royal borough are less stringent than others.
Delving into the considerable coverage following the incident adds depth to the price Ora may have paid, if she did indeed struggle with her conscience as her apology invites people to believe.
It turns out that Rita Ora’s mother is a retired GP that returned to work during the pandemic to help the fight against Covid-19. Earlier this year Ora the younger went to some considerable effort to praise her mother and fellow front line NHS workers.
Speaking with Hello! Magazine Rita Ora said: “My mother has always been my hero, but this pandemic has honestly made her a superhero in my eyes. She is so brave and has been through so much on her own, yet her generosity to help others just cements what I know my mother is capable of. I’m so happy the rest of the world has now got to see it too. All the NHS doctors and nurses are my heroes.”
It seems like the pop star’s actions and her words are quite different things.
There is a glut of information relating to the pop stars part in the breach of Covid-19 regulations, and the same can be said of the restaurant, just search Google for more details. There is however nothing relating to The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, where the restaurant is located, taking any action whatsoever with the restaurant. The good people of the royal borough who like to dine out might expect them to, as will every restaurant that at great expense does follow Covid rules.
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