Packed pubs must be a thing of the past in battle against Covid-19, expert warns

Dr Catherine Motherway said that while pubs will almost certainly be given permission to reopen - it will only be under very strict new guidelines

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

Dr Catherine Motherway, former President of the Intensive Care Society, explained that it would be preferable to see people gathering in small groups.

And she said that while pubs will almost certainly be given permission to reopen - it will only be under very strict new guidelines.

Dr Motherway 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 of before that we used to go to.

“They will be very controlled environments under the new regulations. so that will hopefully allow us to meet in very controlled circumstances.”

And Dr Motherway claimed that there has been no big increase in the number of coronavirus cases in ICU, despite the recent spike in cases nationally.

She added: “Predominantly the increase in cases is in the younger population who are less likely to require hospitalisation or get critically ill. That said they can have some significant long-term effects, it would appear.

“So we haven’t seen a huge number of admissions as of yet and we are hoping that won’t happen.

“Our worry is that with increased viral transmission in the community it will spill over into vulnerable populations, and older populations and people with underlying conditions at increased risk.”