A pub in South Dublin has closed following the signing of Covid-19.

Old Orchard of Rathfarnham said it was in the process of testing all staff members, “Anyone who has visited us since we reopened at the end of June will know how seriously we have followed the guidelines we have given.”

The Charlie Chuck Group-owned pub said in a statement that it would close until further notice.

“We feel this is a responsible decision because the health and well – being of our staff and customers is of paramount importance to us. Due to the isolated incident of a staff member testing positive on Kovid 19 outside the workplace, we will close further notice. We are in the process of testing all staff members to rule out the possibility of joining our staff.”

Wet pubs

The news comes as the cabinet has approved a re-opening date of September 21 for all wet pubs.

Over the weekend, The Irish Times File Ireland is reported to have developed new guidelines for the region, which will reduce social distance keeping measures to one meter in a restricted environment.

Like restaurants and pubs that currently serve food, all customers are required to leave the premises by 11.30pm.

The guidelines state that users should be served at a table to avoid overcrowding at the bar and that no pre-booking or time-limited slots are required if a physical distance of up to two meters can be maintained.

This means that pubs operating in these conditions should not be limited to spending more than 105 minutes on the premises.