Preliminary guidelines for wet bars see no more than six per table, but there is no time limit

No more than six per table, no counter service and out at 11.30pm, this is the new normal for wet pubs, according to the draft guidelines that have emerged.

The table rules don’t include more than six people from no more than three different households, so big parties are now a thing of the past, even if you book early.

Even this group should be kept within a meter of each other, unless they are from the same household, the guidelines establish.

But the new rules say that a 105-minute limit is not necessary in a pub if a physical distance of two meters is “strictly maintained” between tables.

The 25-page ‘living document’ on new guidelines, seen by the Irish Mirror, emphasizes social distancing, with terms like ‘physical distancing’, ‘physical distance’ and ‘physical barriers’ mentioned 130 times.

In Section 10, which deals with pubs that do not serve food, the document states that the Department of Health has confirmed that the HPSC guide for food service businesses now also applies to “wet” pubs.

Pubs that do not serve food, like their counterparts that do, as well as restaurants, etc., will be considered “controlled environments”.

This puts them on par with current guidelines in many ways, including:

• Two meter spacing between tables, but can be reduced to one meter if additional measures are taken

• No more than six people can be seated at a table and they must not come from more than three different households. This applies to advance bookings and walk-ins.

• Physical distance of one meter between people seated at these tables, unless they are from the same household

• Table service only and no counter service

• The number of seats should be reduced

• Separation of night bars and discos without customers on the premises after 11:30 p.m.

• All employees in customer-facing duties must wear face covers, unless a protective screen is in place

• Strict queuing system for bathrooms and limit on the number of users to guarantee physical distancing

• All pubs are asked to develop an ‘action plan’ to reopen

• The use of cash is discouraged and customers are asked to use card / contactless payments when possible.

Amid the recent furore over pubs keeping customer data records, the guidelines also clearly state that “businesses and services where alcoholic beverages are sold or supplied for consumption on the premises must keep track of the time and the date of arrival at the premises of a single group / client and the name and phone number of the primary person in a single group / client for COVID-19 contact tracing. “

He adds: “These records must be kept for 28 days.”

An industry source said the new rules will be a “major change” but that bar owners will smile and put up with it just to get a chance to reopen.

But they cautioned that colleagues think there are so many restrictions that many establishments will still fail.

They added: “These guidelines will result in a major change for non-food pubs.

“It will not be easy for these pubs to implement [these rules] and remain viable.

“The industry will accept the guidelines if that is what is required to open the non-food pubs, as they will have been closed for a minimum of six months at that stage.”