Dublin Pub Resists Voluntary Shutdown Ahead of St Patrick’s Day

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An increase in confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Ireland prompted officials to ask that all pubs and bars shut down at midnight on Sunday night, March 15, until March 29, local media reported. Prime minister Leo Varadkar announced on Thursday the suggested cancellation of all indoor public gatherings of 100 or more people. On Sunday, the Temple Bar Company, a trade group representing the busy riverside neighborhood of Temple Bar, announced that, because its pubs could not satisfy public health advice in limiting large gatherings, all locations should close voluntarily “with immediate effect” to avoid the spread of the coronavirus. Still, some Temple Bar pubs attracted many patrons on March 15, as seen in this video taken outside a pub on Temple Lane Sunday night. In accompanying tweets, the source of the video shared photos of other area pubs that had closed at the advice of the Irish government, he said. Outside Molly Malone’s, which remained open and full of patrons just before midnight, the source got into a verbal exchange with the pub’s bouncer, who told him to stop recording “people enjoying themselves.” “Enjoying themselves? Spreading coronavirus, yeah?” the source responds. “You’re not in there, so you won’t get it,” the bouncer said. “Old people can die from this, yeah?” the source replies. “Not young people.” “I’m old, I should be getting it,” the bouncer responded. “So I should worry about it, not you.” In response to other viral videos of packed clubs despite officials’ pleas to stay home, Health Minister Simon Harris called it an insult to the efforts of health care workers battling the pandemic. Credit: Gearóid Murphy via Storyful

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