The CCCI expresses its strong dissatisfaction with the exclusion of commercial stores from the first phase of relaxation of the restrictive measures against the coronavirus.
Pending the decision that is expected to be taken within a week by the Council of Ministers, to de-escalate the restrictive measures and restart the economy, the CCCI stresses the need for all commercial stores to reopen at the same time, whether they are on shopping streets or in shopping malls.
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The Chamber emphasizes that it is unfair for the shopkeepers of the malls to bear even more losses (than those that have already been borne), since there is no study to prove that the malls have been outbreaks of the disease, while no other country in the European Union has not locked in the same period in the entire retail.
At the same time, the CCCI points out that the decision not to reopen the stores inside and outside the malls at the same time will create conditions of unfair competition, as all other stores, regardless of area, will continue to operate normally.
The aim, it is noted, is to avoid the crowds and queues of people with the opening of some stores, in order to continue the good epidemiological picture that is being recorded in recent days. The CCCI suggests that there be a continuous control of the people entering the shopping centers, but also a control of the observance of the sanitary protection measures. In addition, he suggests that all employees in shopping malls undergo a rapid test both before the opening of stores and at regular intervals.
It is even important to ensure the proportion of one person per fifteen square meters, but also the thermometry at both the entrance and exit of the stores.
He also stressed that, if necessary, the security staff can be increased in order to ensure the observance of the sanitary measures in the shopping centers.
Those in charge should keep in mind that the stores in the closed malls have lost the most commercial seasons of 2020, such as Easter, Christmas, December (the most commercial month of the year), but also this year.
January which is the pre-eminent month of sales. This increases the uncertainty and insecurity of both shopkeepers and owners.
The State points out that the CCCI must support the shopkeepers of the shopping centers and not create inequalities in the market with its decisions.
The CCCI considers that by observing all the controls they can and must reopen in the first phase of relaxation of the measures and the shops inside the shopping centers and therefore calls on the Government to reconsider its decisions.