THERE are no guarantees that pubs in Ireland will be opened on August 10.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has warned they the reopening of boozers could be further delayed.
Pubs and nightclubs were set to reopen on Monday next, July 20, but the Government has decided to put that date back by three weeks.
Monday’s planned opening was intended to be the next phase of the roadmap to reopen Ireland.
Varadkar told the Dáil this morning: “We are not saying they will open on the tenth of August. We are saying they will open no sooner than the tenth of August. And it will depend on the numbers and on how the virus behaves between now and then.”
The Minister for Heal, Stephen Donnelly, said that the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) is very concerned that the ‘R’ number is now between 1.2 and 1.8.
The reproductive rate, or ‘R number’, indicates the number of people on average that an infected person will pass the virus on to.
“We are essentially prioritising schools, healthcare facilities, the economy over the accelerated opening of the pubs,” Mr Donnelly said.
“This was not done lightly. We really do understand that there are publicans waiting and hoping that they would be able to open on Monday.
“But the public health advice is were we to open now them right now it could materially add to the possibility of a second wave and that’s just not a risk we could take.”
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