Pubs that do not serve food, or so-called "wet pubs", will be permitted to reopen on September 21.
Requirements
Like food-serving pubs, "wet pubs" will be required to serve customers at tables, ensure that customers do not order or sit at bars and ensure that social distancing is maintained at all times.
Draft guidelines for the reopening of "wet pubs" that were drawn up by the government in conjunction with Fáilte Ireland also state that groups of customers must be limited to six people from no more than three households; customers' arrival times and dates and the contact information of one person per group of customers must be recorded for contact tracing; customers must wear face coverings when entering venues and whenever they leave their seats to use restrooms or for any other reason; customers must remain seated in smoking areas; hand sanitising stations must be available at all entrances; 105 minute time slots are not required for venues that can strictly maintain social distancing of two metres; venues that are too small to maintain social distancing of two metres can reduce the distance to one metre, but the time that customers spend in such venues must be limited to 105 minutes; and customers must leave pubs by 11.30pm, among other guidelines.
Possible Local Restrictions
"Wet pub" operations might also be subject to local restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19 in areas with high case rates.
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