The country is just days away from finally seeing the return of indoor dining with final talks set to take place today.
Work has been ongoing to finally facilitate the reopening of indoor service for pubs and restaurants.
However there are still a number of details which need to be finalised as the government works to agree the legal rules around the reopening.
Indoor dining will only be open to people who have been vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19 in the last six months.
However an official an announcement has not been made yet as the sector waits to get final confirmation from the government.
It is hoped the regulations will be published later today followed by the operational guidelines for the hospitality sector.
Here's everything we know so far about the reopening
Yesterday it emerged a new Digital Covid Cert scanner will be used to facilitate the reopening.
The checker is expected to be available on the official government website from Friday - and will be used to scan vaccine passes on entrance to pubs and restaurants.
Users will be asked to scan their QR code using their mobile device, once scanned, it will state an individual’s full name and whether their vaccine cert is valid or invalid.
People will have to carry ID and will be asked to present it at the point of entrance at a premises to confirm their identity with their vaccine pass.
However, it’s understood once scanned, it will not hold a person’s details, nor will it state a person’s date of birth.
Businesses and consumers will be able to try out the digital scanner on Friday before pubs and restaurants reopen their doors on Monday for indoor dining.
The scanner is also expected to be used to determine whether a person has had a negative PCR or antigen test in the previous 72 hours when the government decides to move to the next phase to permit unvaccinated people to dine indoors.
On top of the vaccine pass system there will also be a number of rules in place which pubs and restaurants will have to follow.
Thankfully there will be no time limit but bars will have to be closed at 11.30pm.
Here are the rules that pubs will have to follow:
- Maximum six people to a table
- At least two metres between a table, unless there are kids present, in which case they can be one metre separate
- There will be no time limits - people will be able to stay for as long as they want. This was different to the last time we were able to dine indoors
- However, pubs will still have to be closed at 11.30pm
CO2 monitors will be installed in order for pub owners to check ventilation
On top of that, there will be an inspection regime set up by HSE and HSE officials.
Unvaccinated Children will be allowed accompanied by vaccinated Adults once seated 2m away from other tables.
Pubs and restaurants will reopen on Monday, July 26
