Covid-19 FAQs

England:

Q: Do I need to wear a face covering when visiting a pizzeria?

A: Face coverings are no longer to be required for customers, however, our teams will still be wearing face coverings (unless they are exempt ).

Wales:

Q: Do I need to wear a face covering when visiting a pizzeria?

A: Face coverings are no longer to be required for customers, however, our teams will still be wearing face coverings (unless they are exempt).

Q: When I visit a pizzeria, am I required to provide my contact details for Test and Trace?

A: Test and Trace posters are available to check in should you wish.

Q: Are there restrictions on household mixing?

A: Yes you must only dine on a table of 6 people, we will continue to recommend that customers socially distance in areas where they share space with other households, for example our bathrooms and stairwells.

Our teams will continue to maintain social distancing, and our strict cleaning regimes will all remain in place. This includes regular cleaning in each restaurant every 2 hours, and each team member washing their hands every 20 minutes (more regularly if handling food). Hand sanitiser stations will all remain in place. We will also continue to keep windows and doors open as much as possible to aid ventilation.

Scotland:

Q: Do I have to wear a face covering in the pizzeria when I come for my visit?

A: Yes, customers must wear a face covering (unless exempt). You may only remove your face covering whilst at your table when about to eat or drink. Your face covering must be worn when moving around the pizzeria including visits to the toilet.

Q: Are there restrictions on household mixing?

A: Yes only 3 households can dine together. We will continue to recommend that customers socially distance in areas where they share space with other households, for example our bathrooms and stairwells and we will maintain 1 metre distance between tables.

Q: When I visit a pizzeria, am I required to provide my contact details for Test and Trace?

A: Yes whilst the majority of government restrictions have relaxed, it is still mandatory for all customers to provide their contact details for Test and protect purposes.

Northern Ireland:

Q: Do I have to wear a face covering in the pizzeria when I come for my visit?

A: Yes, customers must wear a face covering (unless exempt). You may only remove your face covering whilst at your table when about to eat or drink. Your face covering must be worn when moving around the pizzeria including visits to the toilet.

Q: Are there restrictions on household mixing?

A: Yes 6 people can dine together or up to 10 if from the same household. Under12 year olds are exempt . We will continue to recommend that customers socially distance in areas where they share space with other households, for example our bathrooms and stairwells.

Q: Why are some of your team not wearing a face covering?

A: All of our team members are required to wear face coverings. Our team members who are exempt will be wearing a badge/ lanyard on their apron and a face shield. We are mindful and respectful of such circumstances for our customers as well, so please kindly let our team know if you are exempt if asked.

Q: What safety precautions are in place to protect customers and teams?

A: We’ve introduced a range of measures to keep our customers and teams safe and socially distant while still offering delicious food and great service. These include:

• New physically distanced layouts in our pizzerias.

• New routines to minimise physical contact and maintain distance when setting, serving and clearing tables.

• A new digital menu and cashless payment to encourage social distancing and assist customers.

• Customer hand sanitiser stations in all our pizzerias.

• Enhanced cleaning regimes that include the sanitisation of all contact surfaces at least every two hours.

• A culture of handwashing which our teams complete every 20 minutes on top of normal handwashing that is needed to maintain food safety standards.

• Enhanced health and wellbeing conversations and checks with our teams.

Q: Why is your team not wearing PPE including gloves while preparing our food?

A: We are adhering to specific government advice with team members wearing face coverings (unless they are exempt where we ask them to wear a face shield) and are adhering to strict social distancing measures. Rather than wearing gloves which can lead to poor hygiene controls, our teams will follow a more robust process of handwashing on a regular basis (every 20 minutes).

Q: How can you be sure Covid-19 doesn't spread to food or packaging?

A: The latest scientific guidance from the government says there is little to no evidence that COVID-19 can be spread via food or packaging.

Q: How can I be assured that your pizzerias are adhering to the latest health and safety guidance?

A: Every pizzeria has been inspected by our Quality and Safety team and once they are satisfied that government guidance has been adhered to, including social distancing measures in addition to our own robust health and safety procedures, they’ll be provided a with a signed and dated certificate to ensure the government guidance for social distancing processes is in place as well as our robust health and safety procedures. We have also invited HSE (The Health and Safety Executive) to inspect all our Pizzerias in England Scotland and Wales to ensure we are COVID secure and received a 100% pass rate.

Q: What happens if a member of staff tests positive for covid-19?

A: We have enacted our own internal Track and Trace system. If and when necessary, appropriate potential contacts are identified and isolated and customers will be contacted. We also work with external bodies where and when necessary.

Q: Does PizzaExpress collect customer data for contact tracing?

A: Yes; safety is our top priority, so we have several ways of collecting customer contact data including via our booking platform and digital menu. The data is stored securely for 21 days so that it can be shared with PHE contact tracing if required. We take data protection very seriously and will only share this data with validated officials for the purposes of contact tracing, if they formally request it.

Q: When would PizzaExpress activate contact tracing at a pizzeria?

A: The local council, in tandem with PHE, manage contact tracing processes and decide what public health advice to give. PizzaExpress does not implement or run the contact tracing. Safety is our main priority, so we collect customer details routinely as one of our COVID-19 prevention measures and will provide it for contact tracing if requested.

Q: My gift card is due to expire?

A: All gift cards due to expire in July and August have been extended to October 31st.

When visiting one of our Pizzeria’s in Belfast all customer over the age of 18 we need to provide either a digital COVID certificate, paper COVID certificate (with photo ID), a negative lateral flow test (taken within the last 48 hours), or proof of recovery in the last 30 – 180 days in line with government guidelines. For more information click here.

If you have any other questions not covered by the above, please contact our customer service team via our webform or ring our team on 02087989090 between Monday-Friday 10am-4pm.