Hundreds of Salisbury pub-goers and diners are being told to wash or double-bag their possessions after traces nerve agent were found inside Zizzi restaurant and The Mill pub.
People who were at either venue before closure on Monday are advised to do the following:
- Clothes should be washed, ideally in a washing machine
- Clothes which cannot be washed, for example if they need dry cleaning, should be double bagged in plastic until further notice
- Mobile phones, handbags and other electronic items should be wiped with baby wipes, which should be bagged in plastic and put in the bin
- Other items such as jewellery and glasses should be washed with warm water and detergent.
Professor Dame Sally Davies, the chief medical officer for England, said: “We have now learned there has been some trace contamination by the nerve agent in both the Mill Pub and Zizzi restaurant in Salisbury.
“I am confident this has not harmed the health of anyone who was in the Mill pub or Zizzi’s.
“However, some people are concerned long term exposure to these substances may over weeks, and particularly months, give rise to health problems.
“I am therefore advising as a belt and braces approach the people who were in either the restaurant or the pub at 1:30pm last Sunday until evening closing on Monday should clean the clothes they wore and the possessions they handled while there.”
Ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter remain in hospital critically ill after being found poisoned on a bench in Salisbury city centre on 4 March.
