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Lockdown: The next steps in the market – What did the first “crash test” in stores show
Citizens buying Christmas items in the spirit of the holidays. The shopkeepers estimate that they will reach only 25-30% of the turnover that they usually did.
Consumers are rushing to make their purchases for the Christmas Holidays; they weren’t able to do for so long. Today, Tuesday, being the second day of operation for seasonal stores. They are the first to open in the middle of a lockdown due to coronavirus. Citizens gather early in the morning in many shops across the country, resulting in queues, even the queues are quite long
As they point out, the opening of seasonal stores is a breath of fresh air for them, given the bad psychology that prevails due to the prolonged lockdown. Most people buy the essentials for Christmas decorations, so that families and young children can feel the atmosphere of the Christmas holidays.
The owners of the 110 stores that opened yesterday see the traffic as particularly high, however they explain that they will not be able to cover more than 25-30% of the turnover they made each year. In order to visit the shops, one must of course send a message with the code 2 to 13033 but also to observe all the prescribed measures inside the shops, such as maintaining the distance of 2 meters and the necessary use of a mask. It is recalled that according to the instructions, up to four people per 100 square meters are allowed.
Infectious disease specialists: Do not open the market, unless the cases fall.
The opening of seasonal stores is in fact the first “crash test” that the market carries out to determine what will follow. This, at a time when most scientists are openly expressing their reservations about the next step, which is nothing more than the resumption of retail. The remarks of professor, Demosthenes Sarigiannis on OPEN TV and the show “Hour of Greece” are typical. “We still can not say for sure how we will open the market. It would be safe not to open the market. “We must ‘buy’ time and not put citizens at risk,” he said.
The positions of other infectious diseases specialists were similar yesterday. According to Manolis Dermitzakis, professor of Genetics at the Medical School of Geneva, retail should only be opened if we have less than 1,000 cases. “If Ermou street opens, it will become a hotbed of coronavirus”, stressed the professor of Infectious Diseases, Nikos Sypsas, while the professor of Epidemiology, Dimitris Paraskevi, commented that the steps for opening the market must be done very carefully, so that there is no setback. The Minister of Development, Adonis Georgiadis, also spoke on OPEN TV on Monday about the possibility of opening the retail trade, who clarified that it is possible that the market will not even open.
Georgiadis for opening shopping malls: It is not possible for half of the trade to be open
The position of the Ministry of Development for the opening of retail trade and Malls was presented by Adonis Georgiadis during an interview on Alpha TV. Specifically, Mr. Georgiadis clarified that the goal is to open the retail trade as soon as possible, something that is expected to be decided by the end of the week. “The aim is for the retail trade to open during the holidays so that the stores can compensate for the damage they have suffered,” he said characteristically and at the same time took a clear position on the opening of the Mall.
He clarified that the position of the Ministry is clear: “You can not keep half of the trade open and the other half closed, it would create conditions of unfair competition.” Of course, he added that whatever opens, will open with rules and with attention to the necessary sanitary measures. “Here we are in clumps of stones. On the one hand we have a pandemic that as social mobility increases the number of cases and possibly deaths increases and on the other hand an economic disaster that is great because of the holidays. You need to find a weight. It is a difficult exercise “, he underlined characteristically.
This Friday, December 11, the final announcements for the Christmas roadmap are expected to be made regarding the lifting of some restrictive measures of the lockdown against the spread of the coronavirus. According to government spokesman Stelios Petsas, the announcements will concern travel from county to county, SMS, retail, churches and hairdressers.
For the full story in Greek click on the surce link :- https://www.ethnos.gr
