Chamber President Mahrer is for a gradual opening of the trade and for personal service providers
Chamber of Commerce President Harald Mahrer is pushing for the economy to be opened up soon and gradually after the current hard lockdown. Business had been closed for almost three months. If nothing works on February 8th, many more billions will be missing: “Each week lockdown costs 1.1 billion euros. If you include all the additional effects, it is 1.7 billion”.
A continuation of the lockdown would be “job destruction when it comes to Easter,” said the chamberlain in a “Today” interview.
In Mahrer's opinion, unlocking could be done safely at the moment, “we are in agreement with the social partners. There are safety concepts, FFP2 masks, tests and vaccinations are in place.” He countered the objection that the number of Covid cases did not go down that this was the case in almost no country after a lengthy lockdown. “But they don't shoot up either.”
Mahrer is for a step-by-step opening up to trade – with the usual restriction on how many people are allowed in a store – and personal service providers from fashion stores to hairdressers, including flower shops, it's Valentine's Day. For the catering trade, the government communicated early on that there would be no opening before March. This clarity was important.
The chamber regularly inquires about the mood of the population, the last results were available yesterday, Wednesday: 72 percent are in favor of retailers and service providers being allowed to unlock on February 8th. “Only 14 percent advocated that the shops remain closed.
Dealers and their tenants and landlords (operators of shopping areas) are urging a voluntary lobby association to open the shops on February 8th so that the whole trade does not suffer further damage. The warehouses are full to the brim, the dealers have invested their capital in the inventory, which naturally strongly depresses the company's liquidity. The Austrian Council of Shopping Places (ACSP) requires a master plan for February. “If the stationary retail stores remain closed, there will be massive bankruptcies and, unfortunately, further increases in unemployment,” the association wrote in a broadcast.
