Pubs who fail to comply with Covid-19 regulations should “feel the full force of the law”, according to the Vintners Federation of Ireland.

Pubs who fail to comply with Covid-19 regulations should “feel the full force of the law”, according to the Vintners Federation of Ireland. 
Yesterday, it was reported that a further 22 potential breaches of public health regulations were identified at licensed premises, with gardaí saying the majority related to a lack of evidence that food was being served or consumed. 
The regulations include alcohol only being served alongside a “substantial meal” costing at least €9 with customers staying a maximum of one hour 45 minutes on the premises.
CEO of the Vintners Federation of Ireland Padraig Cribben said pubs should be allowed reopen fully as is currently planned on 10 August.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Sarah McInerney, he said there are many publicans in rural Ireland who rely on this time of the year to pay their bills through the winter, and the mental health and anguish they are under cannot be underestimated. 
He said the Australian State of Victoria has kept pubs and restaurants open, despite a second wave of Covid-19. 
Mr Cribben said that those who socialise at home are not socialising in the controlled environment that a pub would provide. 
He said “a million and one things need to be done” in order to allow pubs reopen correctly and there is no reason why the guidelines should not be released soon. 
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Meanwhile, a specialist in infectious diseases said there is a risk in every area of society that is reopened and every area that is relaxed. 
Professor Sam McConkey said what he would like to see is the number of cases in Ireland being brought down to zero. 
Speaking on the same programme, he said he believes there will be a “multitude of second ripples” of the disease and effective methods need to be in place to test and trace. 
He said Ireland needs to keep “on message” and people need to keep doing what they are asked to do, adding that he would be horrified if the country returned to the situation experienced in March. 
He also reassured parents concerned about children returning to school, saying that children are not badly affected by the virus and will love going back to school. 
He said they need to return to the classroom because they have really suffered over the last few months. 
The CEO of the Health Service Executive has said the number of people in hospital with Covid-19 is six, down from a peak of 879. Four of those patients are in intensive care units.
Paul Reid urged people on Twitter to keep “keep fighting hard against this virus”. 
#COVID19. Some really good news. Overnight, we are now down to 6 positive cases in hospital (from 879 peak) and 4 in ICU (160 peak). Just 6 hospitals with one case each. We all dont want this trend to go back up. Let’s all keep fighting hard against this virus. @HSELive
— Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) July 30, 2020
Department of Health said yesterday that it had been notified of no new deaths and 14 additional confirmed cases.
There have been a total of 1,764 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland, and 25,942 confirmed cases.
Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn said that 11 of yesterday’s cases were close contacts of confirmed cases and half of these had no symptoms.
For Covid-19, the World Health Organization says that data to date suggests that 80% of infections are mild or asymptomatic; 15% are severe infection, requiring oxygen and 5% are critical, requiring ventilation.
Generally, you need to be 15 minutes or more in the vicinity of an infected person and within two metres of them, to be considered at-risk, or a close contact.