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Dublin’s representative body for pub trade has warned that a further delay in the reopening of “wet pubs” in the city would be “an absolute disaster” for the sector, pushing some publicans to default on mortgages because Covid-19 pauses in payment are due to expire at the end of the month.
Donall O’Keeffe, executive director of the Licensed Vintners Association, said it would be “incredible” if the reopening of Dublin’s non-food pubs were further delayed on September 21, the fourth proposed date for reopening. He asked the Cabinet to stay on that date.
Pubs that don’t serve food are due to reopen on September 21, but public health experts have said restrictions may be needed to control Dublin’s high infection rates.
“NPHET [the National Public Health Emergency Team] it should focus on where the infections are, ”O’Keeffe said.
“These pubs have not contributed to this worrying trend of increasing infections. That has happened in homes, in the community and in other workplaces because the pubs will have been closed for 189 days by September 21, ”he said.
Crowded pubs
“All hotel companies must face the same public health guidelines. 3,500 food pubs have opened since June 29 without any problems. What is NPHET’s obsession with wet pubs? “
On the other hand, intensive care consultant Catherine Motherway warned that there could be no return to the crowded pubs of the past.
Dr. Motherway, former president of the Society for Intensive Care, said she would rather see people gathered in a controlled way in small groups.
The level of intensive care beds in the country remains a matter of concern, he added, and any expansion in such numbers would be welcome in the national plan to be announced Tuesday.
She told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland show that the increase in the number of people contracting Covid-19 in recent weeks had been predominantly among younger people who did not need the same levels of hospitalization, which was good, but Fears remained that the virus could spread to more vulnerable people in the community.
ICU beds
While the vulnerable have improved their protection of themselves, a risk remained, Dr. Motherway said.
The survival rate in Ireland’s intensive care units for Covid-19 patients was good, he said, at 79 percent, which compares well internationally.
Dr. Motherway said she was confident that the Health Service Executive was committed to improving the capacity of intensive care beds, but the lack of ICU beds was one of the reasons why there had been such a severe blockage and dragged on.
The consultancy, which is based out of Limerick University Hospital, where it has not seen a case of Covid-19 in the intensive care unit for some time, asked people to meet in a controlled manner. The problem was uncontrolled indoor gatherings, he said.
While we needed to get back to some kind of normal life, it wasn’t going to be the same as before. There couldn’t be a return to crowded pubs, she said.
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