Closing: Government Retail Plan: Seasonal Stores Open Mondays

The first step to reheat the Christmas market is taking place from next Monday with the opening of seasonal goods stores. After four weeks of universal lockdowns across the country, and with no prospect of a revival of focus, the government is lifting retail measures, selecting seasonal stores in the first place.

According to all indications, hairdressers, toy stores, bookstores for which there were many voices of protest from the first day of the confinement, florists and, according to all indications, a little later the small commercial stores will follow. The transition next Monday to the seasonal stores and a week later, to the rest of the stores, will be done with a special code through the known SMS or with the travel document.

With the gradual lifting of measures in retail, the government hopes to breathe new life into the economy before Christmas. Seasonal stores will open next Monday to reactivate the psychological mood of the people during these holidays, followed by hairdressers, toy stores, flower shops and bookstores.

Trying to balance the tired society and the exhausted economy from the lockdown imposed by the rapid increase in coronavirus cases, the government seeks the golden section for citizens before Christmas.

The first step will be taken next Monday with the opening of a total of 110 seasonal stores that will operate under strict measures. Due to the viral load that remains at high levels, the government spokesman speaking to “Mega Weekend” ruled out any possibility of Christmas getaways.

How to open stores

Based on available information, the small retail stores will open on Monday, December 14.

Within the next few days of that week, depending on the traffic observed in the first days of opening, toy stores, bookstores and florists will open. As for toy stores and bookstores, which in some cases are large, there will be different operating conditions.

Click solution is being considered

One scenario that is being considered so far is clicking. This means that citizens will be able to order the games and books of their choice online or by phone, and then, by appointment, come and collect them.

That is, people will not be able to go to stores and search the shelves for what they want to buy.

It is worth noting, however, that click away has not yet been “blocked”, as stores may eventually open with strict measures and a customer limit depending on the square footage.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis is likely to make relevant announcements in a few days.

The Secretary General for Trade and Consumer Protection, Mr. Panagiotis Stampoulidis, gave clarifications on the operation of seasonal stores during the briefing on the evolution of the pandemic, clarifying from the outset that it will be limited and subject to specific rules.

What stores are opening

“Following the suggestion of the Minister of Development and Investments, the Greek Government decided on the limited and clearly defined operating procedure, in terms of duration and types of sale of goods, of companies that operate on a purely seasonal basis and have as their main activities the following:

• Retail sale of lighting fixtures of the kind used in Christmas trees with KAD / 47.59.56.16
• Retail Imitation Christmas Trees with KAD / 47.65.67.02
• Retail of general holiday items with KAD / 47.65.67.06
• Retail trade of festive, carnival and other entertainment articles, etc. with KAD / 47.65.67.07
• The products included in the 4 KADs above can also be sold in Food Supermarkets (supermarket).

They will be open from December 7 to January 8

The duration of operation of the stores is from December 7 to January 8, 2021, highlighted Mr. Stampoulidis.

He also noted that companies that have the previous KAD as a secondary is prohibited to sell these products.

In addition, it is not allowed to change data on the primary CAD through the tax administration, during the entire validity of the measures.

SMS to 13033 – Schedule – Security measures

The operating rules are adapted to the requirements to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and are integrated into the lockdown procedures, as follows:

• To go to the store, it is necessary to send an SMS to 13033 with option 2 or a completed form, a circulation certificate or a handwritten certificate (to go to an operating store of essential items (supermarket).
• Opening hours from 7 am to 8:30 pm

Distances and masks

The following applies to the population within stores:

• Ratio of people per m2. 4/100
• More than 100 square meters. 1 person for every 15 m2.
• The use of a protective mask by work personnel and the public, clients / visitors / consumers is mandatory.
• Maintaining a distance of 2 meters between people.
• It is recommended not to use elevators. However, if its use is deemed necessary, the integrity in relation to the permissible limit should be of the order of 40%.
• In the case of escalators, the use of an elevator is not allowed except for the disabled, the elderly or for the use of catering.

“We want to make it clear that the behavior of all of us with respect to compliance with the rules during the operation of the mentioned companies, will judge our next steps. It is important to strictly observe the rules of self-control and personal hygiene to be able to walk safely in the next period, ”concluded Mr. Stampoulidis.

Lock: which codes are valid

The other login codes are as follows:

• Code 1: Go to a pharmacy or visit the doctor, if recommended after relevant communication.
• Code 2: Go to an operating store or a point of supply of basic necessities (supermarket, mini market), where it is not possible to send them.
• Code 3: Go to a public service or bank, to the extent that an electronic transaction is not possible.
• Code 4: Move to help people in need.
• Code 5: Go to a funeral under the conditions provided by law or go to divorced parents or parents who are in a dimension that is necessary to ensure communication between parents and children, in accordance with current provisions.
• Code 6: Physical exercise in the open air or movement with a pet, individually or in pairs, observing in the latter case the necessary distance of 1.5 meters.

The SMS that will be sent to 13033, to be valid, must have the following format:

X [κενό] name and address of residence (where “X” is the corresponding code).

Citizens can also travel after completing the appropriate form or with a handwritten certificate, as mentioned in forma.gov.gr.

For a fixed certificate of movement (Type A) to and from work, the following form is required:

Christmas … a little family

Experts talk about Christmas with restrictions on family gatherings, recommendations to avoid synchronicity and unnecessary travel.

Government spokesman Stelios Petsas, speaking on “MEGA Weekend” about whether to move from house to house on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, noted that “the general direction is to try to get families to celebrate at home, possibly with another family.”

However, Mr. Petsas did not provide further information and stressed that it is difficult to allow interregional travel.

“The holidays will be lonely this year so as not to mourn the victims,” ​​said Professor Alkiviadis Vatopoulos.

Regarding seasonal store openings, Mr. Vatopoulos commented that “one parameter to measure is mobility and these things must be weighed.” “The measurements can be observed when someone goes shopping. I would say not to open anything, but I have a vision more from the point of view of public health, “he said, and said that the decision to open some stores was political to move the economy a little.

Asked about when other sectors of the economy could open, he explains: “It is not only the number of cases, it is their distribution but also how long the health system can endure. It’s good that someone doesn’t get sick. At this moment, we are being accused by two groups of people, those who say we make excessive decisions and destroy the economy and those who accuse us of not making excessive decisions and destroying health.

As Mr. Vatopoulos highlighted speaking at the Open, it is important that citizens realize that this situation will continue and we must continue to comply with the measures. “The component of what we see is that nothing has been overcome yet. In general, Greece did better than many European countries. “But nothing is over yet and people must realize.”

In the same extension are the statements of the Vice Minister of Civil Protection, Nikos Hardalias, “we are in the middle of a battle. We had a bad time all these months. We celebrate Easter only with our families, I think the same will happen at Christmas ”.

Because only these stores were selected

We are talking about people who, if they do not sell these days, will sell again next year. Human life is not just the coronavirus. Otherwise, everything would be simple. Human life is both mental and financial problems, and your family lives. We have part-time people here who only sell now and if they don’t sell now they are financially ruined. And they are few. We will monitor the operation of the rules. We must also support them in some way. It is not the same criteria for the rest of the market, which obviously also has a problem. The restaurant will have a job when it opens. “The other can not sell these things on January 1,” explained the Minister of Development, Adonis Georgiadis.

“We cannot proceed with a massive market opening”

“I want us to move safely and defeat the pandemic. Otherwise, they would open all the stores that sell seasonal items. But because we have the pandemic, we cannot proceed with a mass opening. This is what the experts will tell us. If they tell us to get started, we have a plan ready for how the branches will open, they will not all open together. “When we open ourselves to God with good, we don’t see images of London,” he added.

“With 2,000 boxes a day we are far from opening the market”

Regarding the next steps to open the market, he said that “there is a clear framework with the next steps and suggestions of what cases and next and how many occupied ICUs we can open. These are changing, I don’t want to say them on TV. With 2,000 boxes a day we are far from opening the market. “The number of cases and ICUs occupied must be such that in a third wave the health system can resist and not endanger human lives.”

“We will have checks for these stores and, if there is risk, they will close again immediately.” We understand the human problem of these people facing total destruction, and we will manage the opening within the rules of the coronavirus. “We show confidence in merchants and consumers,” concluded Mr. Georgiadis.