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A “big blow” for the trade and also for the restoration, which is already “bankrupt”. The tone of the associations representing the retail and catering sector was one of desperation as they realized the longest mandatory recall of the weekend for the next 15 days.
The National Association of Restaurants PRO.VAR accused the Government of paralyzing “almost completely” a sector “on the verge of bankruptcy” and defended the creation of a crisis office to monitor activity, leaving a warning: “An amount will be needed colossal ”To avoid“ hecatomb ”.
In a statement, the Association accused the Government of designing “scalpel” measures and considered that the new announced restrictions ended up being “a closed door”: “The restaurants remain open, but completely empty, as is the order for the Portuguese remain at home and, in the coming weekends, the restaurants will remain open, but only with home delivery ”.
João Vieira Lopes, president of the Confederation of Commerce and Services (CCP), for his part, assures the PUBLIC that “any mobility restriction has an impact” on the sector, assuming that the restaurant “is the sector most affected.”
“There must be a plan of special measures for a few months for this sector because those already announced are not enough,” he defended, proposing that it is necessary to strengthen the leave simplified, ease the payment of taxes, in addition to the moratorium already granted, and a reduction in rents by 40%.
João Vieira Lopes also proposes that the owners have a reduction or exemption of the release fee in order to lower the rents of commercial establishments.
Recalling that even this week the Government announced non-reimbursable measures for companies, the president asks that “above all they be put into operation as soon as possible” so that they can affect the economy.
Another warning for the “big blow” and the “serious consequences” of the mandatory withdrawal in the evenings and nights of weekends came from the Portuguese Association of Shopping Centers (APCC).
In a statement, the association acknowledges having been “surprised” by this government measure and argues that “companies no longer support forced closures” because they are situations that cause huge losses, job losses and contribute to the slowdown in the economy.
The president of APCC, António Sampaio de Mattos, recalled that the new restrictive measures were announced days after an agreement was signed to try to anticipate Christmas shopping. “In the same week that we signed a protocol with the Ministry of Economy and Digital Transition that aims to encourage the anticipation of Christmas purchases in order to avoid concentrations of people in commercial spaces, we are surprised by a measure that exactly can cause these crowds of people at other times of the day and week ”, warns the official, noting, however, that public health is at the forefront of priorities. With lusa
