The Taoiseach has confirmed that the reopening of pubs, hotel bars and nightclubs will now not go ahead on 10 August as planned. Micheál Martin also said the size of crowds gathering will remain at 200 for outdoors and 50 for indoors and he said the evidence will be reviewed again in three weeks' time. "I know that this will come as a blow to pub owners and I want them to know I have enormous sympathy for their plight. This virus is taking away their ability to earn a living, to provide a key service in the heart of many communities," Mr Martin said.
"But we are doing what we are doing to save lives and to give our society and economy the best chance we can to open safely and sustainably," he said However, he said international evidence shows that pubs and nightclubs opening too early leads to community transmission and he said that is the worst thing that could happen here. The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly has said what was driving public health advice and the government decision was public safety and public health, the health of the economy and a focus on reopening schools. Speaking on RTÉ's Primetime he said international evidence showed that community transmission increased when pubs were reopened. He said the matter would be reviewed in three weeks, but it was not as simple as getting cases to a certain level. He said it was a very dynamic situation and the Government was responding in a dynamic way. He said the Government did not underestimate how difficult today's decision was for publicans. In relation to face coverings, the Taoiseach said they would be mandatory in retail settings around the country from 10 August. He also said that Malta, Cyprus, Gibraltar, San Marino and Monaco have now been dropped from the Green List of countries that are safe to travel to. He again appealed to people to have patience and he said the only way to suppress the virus was if we continue to work together and fight the virus. Ireland had been due to move to Phase 4 of the roadmap on reopening last month, but it was already deferred once due to a rise in the Covid-19 reproductive rate. Comments are closed.
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