Packed pubs must be ‘thing of the past’

PACKED pubs need to be a thing of the past if we are to curb Covid-19, an intensive care expert has said.

Dr Catherine Motherway, former President of the Intensive Care Society, right, added she would rather see people in small groups.

She told Morning Ireland on RTE Radio One: “It does appear that public houses and restaurants haven’t been associated with a lot of outbreaks thus far, so I think it’s likely pubs will be allowed to open in a controlled manner. But it is uncontrolled gatherings in closed spaces with a lot of people in close contact that we have a worry about.

“One would hope that public houses will follow the regulations that have been outlined and we will see a controlled return to normal.

“And we do need to get back to some form of normal, but it won’t be the crowded pubs we used to go to.

“They will be very controlled environments.”