Ireland plans to reopen restaurants in June

At the weekend, the Irish Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, set out a five phase plan for reopening businesses, providing the contagion remains low.

If all goes ahead, each phase will occur three weeks apart, beginning on 18 May and culminating on 10 August. 

Cafes and restaurants will be allowed to reopen under the third phase of the plan, on 29 June, providing social distancing measures and strict cleaning protocols are followed. 

Pubs would be allowed to reopen during the final phase, on 10 August, although the country’s Business Minister Heather Humphreys has suggested they could reopen sooner if the virus was contained.

At the time of writing, the number of confirmed Coronavirus cases in Ireland stands at 21,506, with 1,303 deaths. 

Later this week the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, is expected to outline full details of how the country will exit lockdown​​.

The strategy for easing lockdown restrictions involves five key tests and focuses on suppressing the R value (the number of people that one infected person will pass the virus on to), which needs to stay below one to avoid the virus taking off again at speed.

Social distancing will likely play a lead role in allowing businesses across various sectors to reopen, which is causing great concern among hospitality operators.

In a recent survey of more than 260 restaurant and bar operators, carried out by the restaurant guide Square Meal, three quarters said they do not expect their businesses to survive with social distancing measures in place. 

Operators including café chain Paul, and London-based restaurant group JKS, cautioned that measures designed to stall the spread of Coronavirus could pose an existential threat to their businesses. 

Just over a quarter of respondents said it would be impossible to implement social distancing measures, with 48% saying they expected to make staff redundancies in the next month.