The time has come for a candid dialogue between the government, infectious disease experts, and business representatives, in order to explore other ways to limit it pandemic, notes the Yiannis Hatzitheodosiou, president of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in a statement he made following the announcement of the new measures adopted by the government to limit the spread of the virus coronavirus.
As Mr. Hatzitheodosiou states: «The conclusion is that the retail sector is to blame for the fact that we still haven't put an end to the pandemic!" This is the only way to explain the ease with which decisions are made to close more stores and scale back economic activity. This is a completely mistaken view which, in my opinion, causes more problems than it is intended to solve.
To date, retail stores have operated in an exemplary manner—whenever they were granted permission to operate—by consistently implementing the required measures, namely masks, social distancing, limiting the number of customers inside the store. This is because there is absolute respect for the protection of public health. How easily is the coronavirus transmitted when there is one customer per 25 square meters?; Where else are such strict measures enforced? If we look around us, we’ll see many instances of overcrowding that have nothing to do with business operations.
Nevertheless, the retail sector has once again come under fire. And since This decision is not accompanied by any real measures to support those affected, then we can say with certainty that it is a impending disaster. The time has come for a frank dialogue between the government, infectious disease experts, and business representatives, so that we can explore other ways to curb the pandemic. Perhaps a mix of measures that would allow—under strict conditions—businesses to operate could be a solution. However, it makes no sense to continue with this approach. The «cut off the head to cure the toothache» approach not only fails to produce results but also burdens entrepreneurship and the economy—and this is something we will have to face.».
