There is no guarantee that all pubs can reopen on August 10 because it's "too early to say", the Acting Chief Medical Officer has said.
Speaking at a National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) on Thursday, Dr Ronan Glynn warned that bars were one of the "highest risk environments" for spreading Covid-19.
He said that the decision to reopen boozers would not be taken for another two weeks, and will be made based on how the virus has acted between now and then.
Dr Glynn also added that the main cause of concern amongst health experts is people forgetting to maintain social distancing.
He said: "This virus can only transmit when people come into contact with one another, [but] it's completely understandable that as things have improved, people have dropped their guard in relation to that."
But it's not all negative news, with Dr Glynn praising the public as the reproduction rate fell back to just above one.
It comes a week after NPHET raised fears of a new wave of cases and hit the brakes on Phase 4 of reopening the country.
Dr Glynn said it was a clear sign people had got the message and fought back by following health guidelines on hand washing, masks and gatherings.
“Two weeks ago, we expressed our concerns about worrying trends,” he said.
“People in Ireland responded to this call for action and together have broken chains of transmission.
“I believe we can maintain the important progress we have made together, but only if we continue to heed the public health advice.”
Dr Glynn urged people not to drop their guard and warned staying two metres apart was the one action he feared was slipping.
“This week we can be uncertain but optimistic,” he said. “It demonstrates people listened and took actions on an individual level. What we do every day makes a difference.”
Nine more deaths related to the virus were announced on Thursday, along with seven new cases.
But eight of the nine victims passed away earlier in the pandemic and have just now been notified.
There have now been 1,763 deaths and 25,826 confirmed cases of the disease.
