Cork pubs and restaurants delay indoor reopenings to allow young staff to get vaccinated
Publican Benny McCabe: Holding off on reopening indoor service pending the vaccination of younger staff. Picture: Larry Cummins
As restaurants and other food businesses prepare for the reopening of indoor dining, in line with public safety advice, a number of local outlets have made the decision to wait until such time as all their staff have had the opportunity to get Covid-19 vaccines.
The question of unvaccinated staff serving vaccinated patrons has been a controversial one, affecting predominantly young service-industry employees, most of whom have had to wait until last week to book their vaccine appointments.
In a statement on his Facebook page, Cork publican Benny McCabe of the Cork Heritage Pubs trail, including the Crane Lane Theatre and the shortly-reopening Pavilion said: "We have taken a view for some time now that it is unfair to have unvaccinated staff serving people indoors, and yet they canât have a pint themselves in another pub.
"As the portal for 18-to-24-year-olds is now open, we will wait a while longer to reopen our pubs indoors and will continue with outdoor service.
"Nearly there", he concluded.
The Bulman bar and restaurant in Kinsale has made a similar announcement via Twitter today, citing the health and protection of its younger staff as a factor of keeping diners outdoors until further notice.
Panti Bliss made a similar announcement saying that Pantibar and Pennylane will not reopen for indoor service âfor nowâ.
âRight now, most of our young staff are not fully vaccinated, and with their safety in mind, we have decided that -for now - we will not reopen indoor service.â Panti announced that most of the staff will be vaccinated in a âcouple of weeksâ and indoor dining will resume then.
Indoor dining is slated to resume on Monday, July 26, for those that have been fully vaccinated - although it's advised to phone your favourite eatery ahead to find out if they're reopening fully.
