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Monday, December 14, 2020
Always open until closing
Politicians for the final 48-hour push in retail
The imminent lockdown of much of the retail sector is aimed at curbing the infection rate in the pandemic. Individual politicians want to complement the strategy: Stores must remain open 24 hours until they are temporarily closed.
Given the impending flood of customers in the retail sector ahead of Wednesday’s second close, politicians have called for stores to be temporarily open 24 hours. “It would make sense to extend the opening hours into the evening to match this attack,” said Deputy Chairman of the FDP parliamentary group, Michael Theurer, of the “Bild” newspaper. “An opening of 48 hours until closing avoids the formation of a queue, which from an infectious point of view should not occur under any circumstances.”
The member of the CDU of the Bundestag and leader of the Hamburg state party, Christoph Ploß, demanded that “shopping hours be extended into the night” to avoid the crowds of stores. The leader of the Berlin CDU parliamentary group, Burkard Dregger, urged retailers in the capital to make the most of the legally possible store opening hours from midnight to midnight. “According to paragraph 3, paragraph 1 of Berlin’s store closure law, stores can be open Monday through Friday from midnight to midnight. Retailers must now do so on Monday and Tuesday,” Dregger said.
The managing director of the Main Association of German Retailers (HDE), Stefan Genth, described an extension of opening hours before closing in an interview with the newspaper “Bild” as “sensible”.
The resolutions of Chancellor Angela Merkel and the prime ministers of the federal states on Sunday provide for the closure of retail trade until January 10. Exceptions apply to food markets, other everyday goods and, for example, pharmacies, post offices and banks. Hair salons, cosmetic studios, and similar businesses must close unless medically necessary treatment is performed. The federal government announced billions in aid for affected businesses.
