Business representatives have been «behind bars» since yesterday retail trade and focus after the new measures announced by the government which make it compulsory to carry out a rapid test or molecular test for anyone who has not been vaccinated, in order to enter a commercial store, outdoor catering area, hairdresser's, etc.
The announcements of official bodies are «rained down» with phrases such as «apprentice magicians», «inapplicable measures», «injustice», even talking about unfair competition as they note that while new restrictions are being placed on their businesses, they are not being imposed on places such as super market or the farmers' markets, places where products such as those sold in commercial businesses are often required to operate under a new regime from Saturday 6 November.
For his part, the government spokesman Yannis Economou, in an interview on Wednesday morning and attempting to respond to the concerns of retail professionals, stressed that the 72% of the adults who are their buying public are vaccinated and therefore outside the scope of the measures.
Thessaloniki traders for new measures: Inexplicable and unworkable
«We are trying to save a situation from the apprentice magicians. We were taken by surprise. We weren't expecting something like this. The decision was made by people who are not aware of the market and there is a problem. If you are not aware of the market and how a market works, how can you make such a decision? They should have called someone to explain to them that it can't be done. When I have a medical problem, I go to the doctor and ask. I don't do the doctor myself,» said the chairman of Commercial Association of Thessaloniki, Pantelis Filippidis.
According to him, the new measures announced and to be applied from 6 November are «firstly inexplicable and secondly unworkable». «And they are not applicable because they do not solve the problem, they do not convince to solve the problem. If anything, we have not had any outbreaks in our shops. And they are putting a difficult exercise on us to do, ignoring of course that there are self-employed people who are self-employed and what are people going to deal with first?» noted the chairman of dealers of Thessaloniki.
He did not rule out the possibility that the measure could have the exact opposite effect, with traders violating the measures in order to serve their customers. «Imagine a store that hasn't had a person step foot in it since the morning and suddenly a person comes in who has neither certificates nor rapid tests, what will he do? Is he going to put him in or not? I'm afraid he will put him in, taking all the risks and writing fines,» he told thesstoday.gr.
«This decision is not convincing in the sense that, if anything, it leaves the buses, i.e. the public transport, unregulated, it leaves the supermarkets, the church, the pharmacies, the bars. And they all get into a simple thought and wonder: Well, isn't that where the virus is transmitted? Does it only spread in small shops?» asked Mr. Filippidis and ended up: «In the end we will put barbed wire in our shops so that people can't get through and we will say that we are going to development and progress.».
Piraeus traders for new measures: Strange and create a feeling of injustice
At the same wavelength and the Piraeus Trade Association, who points out the Antithesis that «from the most official government lips we have heard too many times that the retail sector has contributed minimally to the health crisis» but nevertheless measures have been announced to operations, within which «there is no product manufacture, distances are always respected, given the unfortunately limited number of consumers, and of course the measure of mask use has not ceased to exist».
«Therefore, we are surprised at the targeting, once again, of the retail sector, which is the largest employer in the country and which, since the beginning of the health crisis, has borne a huge financial burden. Especially during this period, due to the interim sales and the anticipation of the festive season, we had created the hope of a “normality”, which would allow the repayment of some even accumulated obligations, »added in the announcement of commercial association of Piraeus.
«The requirement for shops to screen consumers is not only impractical but also strange when, in many other cases, with a much higher concentration of people, this requirement is not required, such as in supermarkets, farmers' markets and public transport. This sudden decision not only creates a sense of injustice, but also the unpleasant feeling that small and medium-sized commercial enterprises are not the future of the Greek economy,» the statement concludes.
GSEBEE: Problem of survival of businesses from the new measures
The new interventions create a huge problem of survival for the retail trade, said the president of SKAI radio GSEVEE, George Kavvathas, who called for immediate support measures for the industry while the industry's entry into «uncharted waters», said president ESEE, George Karanikas
«For more than a year and a half, the trade world has been doing everything humanly possible to help tackle the pandemic. It has long endured the painful lockdowns with zero turnover, expecting a return to ‘normality’, which is constantly postponed. As a matter of course, protecting human life and consumer safety remains the top priority of small and medium commercial enterprises today. However, it is obvious that the new restrictive measures on the attendance of shoppers will cause new losses in the revenues of all small and medium-sized commercial enterprises without exception», Mr. Karanikas.
«The obligation to show a rapid test to enter the store is a disincentive that will definitely reduce shopping and even at a time when inflationary pressures and energy costs are already hitting all households and businesses without exception. Shop owners and shop workers are becoming the controllers of certificates and rapid tests, a task which, even if they manage to cope with it, is sure to alter the shopping experience for citizens, reducing their visits to the market.», adds the president of the ESEE.
At the same time, Mr. Karanikas raises issue unfair competition at the expense of commercial enterprises, as, as it notes, continues «without any control and restriction of the attendance of all, vaccinated and unvaccinated citizens, in supermarkets and farmers» markets,« referring to »legitimate questions as to the effectiveness in stopping the pandemic that will have the government's chosen mix of measures.".
Kafounis: Asymmetric weight on the backs of retailers
The president of the Athens Commercial Association, Stavros Kafounis, following the announcement of the new measures, he said:
«The retail sector, since the beginning of the pandemic, has taken both the financial and health challenges extremely seriously, scrupulously adhering to all health protocols.
After all, we all agree that it has never been a focus of covid-19 transmission and no one in the past has questioned the safe environment within stores.
Therefore, requiring shop workers to check consumers is unfeasible and unfortunately this measure will worsen the economic environment at a time when optimism is gradually returning to the market.».
Focus: a difficult winter is coming
In a statement, the Panhellenic Federation of Restaurant and Related Professions, speaks of a difficult winter that awaits catering businesses, «as the new measures announced by the government to deal with the pandemic, which provide for rapid test and for customers of outdoor catering establishments, create new circumstances and significantly limit the customer base of businesses in the sector, based on the current vaccination coverage of the population. Thus, since mini lockdown the restaurant market is now entering the lockdown cycle.».
«The government's measures undoubtedly reduce the possibility of access of customers in restaurants, as one in two Greeks is unvaccinated and at the same time they create huge problems for the survival of businesses. In effect, the restaurant industry is once again entering a months-long informal lockdown,» notes Posee.
«With the measures announced, the government is once again instrumentalizing the catering business, without taking compensatory measures to make the industry viable, and since last July has withdrawn all support measures for the industry. Η public health is the supreme good that we must all protect, but once again an industry that has been closed for months and has accumulated debts and losses cannot be used. The problems created are enormous and put the viability of hundreds of businesses at risk.
