Pubs across Ireland will switch their Christmas lights on simultaneously tomorrow evening as part of a nationwide 'Keep the Lights On' campaign in the sector.
Organisers say they want to shine a light on their belief that pubs are ready for a safe reopening.
Pubs, bars and restaurants shut their doors when Covid-19 measures were tightened back in October, with a Christmas reopening being called into question due to a slow in the reduction of daily case numbers.
Markers of the virus in the Republic showed early signs of improvement following the nationwide move to Level 5 measures, however the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) has expressed concern that progress has halted.
At the onset of Level 5, a key target set for the reopening the country in December was for case numbers to have fallen to 100 per day.
Guinness #RaisingTheBar joins @LVADublinPubs, @vfipubs & @hospulster to launch #KEEPTHELIGHTSON, which will see pubs across Ireland come together & switch their Christmas lights on this Friday at 5pm.
Share a photo of your local lit up for Christmas with #KEEPTHELIGHTSON pic.twitter.com/uJpCzJNvj1Advertisement— Guinness Ireland (@GuinnessIreland) November 19, 2020
Taoiseach Micheál Martin also said that reducing the reproductive, or R rate to 0.5 if possible was an aim of the current lockdown.
Yesterday, 379 cases of the virus were reported to the Department of Health, with 12 additional deaths.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan urged people to "work together" to suppress the spread of the virus as Ireland surpassed 2,000 Covid-related deaths.
Despite the trends, businesses around the country are hopeful that restrictions will be lifted in time for Christmas and after a difficult year for pub owners, they're readying their premises for a very different festive season to previous years.
The Guinness Raise the Bar campaign will see lights switched on tomorrow at 5pm with the support of the Licenced Vintners Association and the Vintners Federation of Ireland.
