Restaurants Association calls on businesses to abide by public health guidlelines

The Restaurants Association of Ireland has called on businesses to abide by public health guidelines amid stories of fed-up owners reopening.

It was confirmed earlier this week that businesses across a range of industries will remain closed under Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions until April 5 at the earliest. With no reopening date outlined, one restaurant owner has announced that he will reopen in July ‘no matter what’ while arrests were made at a beauty salon that resumed operating in Dublin earlier this week.

The Irish Independent reports that businesses in Tralee are being encouraged to reopen on March 1 but An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has asked that owners “hold firm for the last stretch.”

The Restaurants Association has also called on its members “to abide by public health guidelines in the best interests of public health safety and to get our economy reopened as quickly as possible. They added: “Any business flouting the rules and guidelines should be closed with immediate effect because any breaches of public health puts the lives of the public at risk and the future livelihoods of businesses, especially in the hospitality sector.”

Under Level 5 regulations, restaurants are only allowed to offer takeaway and delivery services.

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