SHUT THE SHOP!

A NIGHTCLIFF takeaway food business has been shut down by police for “multiple failures to comply with the chief health officer Directions.”

According to a statement from NT Police, the takeaway shop was closed after police visited a number of times during the past week and gave the business “ample opportunity to comply with directions.”

“The chief health officer (CHO) issued a direction for the business to cease trading immediately and to remain closed until such time compliance officers are satisfied the CHO Directions will be met,” the statement says.

Incident Controller Sachin Sharma said the business was closed last night and the owner was issued a $25,280 fine.

“Last night police attended the venue to serve the closure notice and observed three staff members working without masks, customers not wearing masks, and no check-in or sign-in facility. The customers immediately complied with police requests to wear masks,” he said.

“Shutting down a locally-owned small business is the very last thing any of us wanted to do at this time. Unfortunately we’ve seen that not all members of the community are willing to take on a short-term inconvenience for everyone’s long-term safety. We all have a responsibility in this pandemic.”

Police will continue to conduct compliance checks with a zero tolerance approach.

sarah.matthews1@news.com.au