Retail Initiative: People Will Concentrate in Few Establishments Left Open

Bratislava, November 25 (TASR) - Head of the Slovak Retail Initiative Daniel Krakovsky has stated in reaction to the Government-approved lockdown that people’s movements will be reduced only minimally, as the lockdown shuts down only selected types of establishments and services. "The vaccinated and unvaccinated as well as COVID-19 negative and positive people will all still be able to meet in overcrowded supermarkets when shopping for Christmas gifts, and then they'll be able to bring the infection to their workplaces. We aren't shutting down factories, workplaces or schools, and so the drop in mobility will be minimal, and people will concentrate in the few establishments or factories left open," he explained. "By not restricting travel, we'll encourage trips abroad for Christmas shopping, and we'll deliberately wipe out the retail sector, which, given the situation ... may not have the money to pay staff salaries," remarked Krakovsky. According to Krakovsky, Government representatives at Wednesday’s press conference didn’t present a single piece of information about compensation for closed establishments that would be ready for them as of Thursday. Meanwhile, the Government had four weeks to adopt restrictive measures, while businesses had only several hours to adapt to the imposed lockdown. "We’re of the opinion that by dispersing people among a greater number of safe stores in an arrangement for both the vaccinated and those who’ve recovered from COVID-19, the risk of the virus spreading among the public would be reduced. We're therefore calling for our stores to be allowed to open as soon as possible, and hand in hand with this must come significant compensation, including for previous pandemic waves. In fact, based on the claims of the relevant authorities, we fear that our shops will remain closed for considerably longer than the promised two weeks," said the chairman of the initiative. zel/df