Coronavirus: Cork cafe owner hits back after being trolled for being 'too safe'

Richard Jacobs of Idaho Cafe said he and his staff are “giving everything” to make sure that their customers are kept safe during this pandemic. Picture: Clare Keogh

A public health expert has defended a popular city cafe’s Covid-19 precautions after it was criticised online for having 'over-the-top' and 'White House' levels of security.

The co-owner of Cork city’s Idaho Cafe, Richard Jacob, robustly defended their new customer safety measures and said he was proud at being “trolled for being too safe”.

He posted a screen-grab of the critical Twitter post from someone who visited the Caroline St cafe recently. 

It reads: “It was like trying to get into the White House. No other cafe in Cork is so ridiculously over the top with the Corona (sic) measures. Name and phone number don’t sit here nervously wiping the tables et cetera. Avoid.” 

Mr Jacob said he and his staff are “giving everything” to make sure that their customers are kept safe during this pandemic.

“Today, we got the ultimate compliment, we were trolled for being too safe,” he said.

And he reminded the critic that he and his wife, Mairead, have been in the hospitality business for 30-years and “don’t do nervous”.

I have never been prouder.

We are giving EVERYTHING to make sure that our customers are kept safe during this pandemic.

Today, we got the ultimate compliment, we were trolled for being too safe😉

( oh and kiddo, we are in this business for 30 years, we don’t do nervous 😉). pic.twitter.com/y6fAMYKs8s

— Richard Jacob (@IdahoNua) October 2, 2020

He received incredible support on social media in the wake of the criticism which emerged a day after acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn revealed that 57 cases of Covid-19 had been linked to a separate and unidentified café restaurant in Cork where a number of people from different households had socialised.

Dr Corinna Sadlier, an infectious diseases consultant at Cork University Hospital, was among those who backed Mr Jacob and his team.

She said the Covid-19 case numbers are still trending in the wrong direction and the only way to flatten the curve was to “be more like Idaho cafe”.

According to the latest figures from the Department of Health, 470 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 were reported last night, with the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) being informed of one additional death, to bring to 1,801 the number of Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland.

It was also announced that following the validation of data, there has been a denotification of six deaths and four cases.

The most recent data shows that the Cork South West local electoral area (LEA) has the highest 14-day incidence rate in Co Cork, at 146.7 per 100,000, compared to the national rate of 88.2 per 100,000. Cork City South Central has 111.2 per 100,000 and Cork City North East has a rate of 118.6. The county remains on level 2 restrictions.

The Boyle LEA in Roscommon is at 197, and the Lifford-stranorlar LEA in Co Donegal, which is on Level 3 restrictions, is on 602.6.

Dublin and Donegal remain on level 3 restrictions after new limits on the numbers of visitors to households nationwide, which are now limited to a maximum of six people only from a single household.