Indoor Dining in Ireland Delayed Again
Indoor dining had been set to reopen on July 5, but based on advice from Ireland’s National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), the indoor dining reopening has been delayed to July 19. The delay comes amid concerns about the Delta variant of Covid-19.
The Irish government also announced that NPHET’s guidance is to require people to be vaccinated in order to dine indoors – this announcement was made just a couple of weeks before the anticipated opening, with no structures in place for business owners to enforce this policy. The move to require private citizens to disclose their medical status has raised legal and ethical questions about equality.
This delay has caused distress across the Irish hospitality business as once again food and drink stock will be wasted, staff will have to be told to hold on for another couple of weeks at least, and general confusion and stress for all staff and owners over how they will be required to check the vaccination status of their customers when they finally reopen. The delay will also inevitably impact people’s summer plans to visit Ireland.
This delay does not affect Northern Ireland, which is allowed to have indoor dining because it is under a separate jurisdiction.
BY TGA Editorial Staff
