January 19th, local time, the Greek National Public Health Organization announced that in the past 24 hours, 566 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Greece, with a total of 149,462 confirmed cases; 30 new deaths, a total of 5,518 deaths. .
On January 18th, local time, the Greek retail industry, which was closed for two months, finally opened its doors to consumers.
Although the number of customers entering the store has been limited due to the pandemic, people still queued up early at the door of the store.
In order to welcome customers, clothing stores and shoe stores in Athens and other cities have launched special prices, and some chain stores have also discounted e-malls.
Recently, the severe cold weather in Athens, Greece, is still raging, and even so, people are still waiting in line patiently.
In order to comply with the relevant pandemic prevention rules, merchants also provided disinfectant at the door of the store and controlled the flow of people.
In the downtown area, the General Secretariat for Commercial and Consumer Protection also conducted police patrols to ensure safety.
Most consumers are patient on the first day of business, and they plan to wait until the first wave of shopping is over.
Many people also said they would wait a few more days in the hope of getting a better discount.
Due to the restrictions of prevention and control measures during the pandemic, consumers can’t go shopping for more than two hours, so many people just want to shop around and observe the goods in the store window and their prices.
Nix Papasanasis, Greece’s Deputy Minister for Development and Investment, said that reopening stores brings optimistic prospects for the week.
At the same time, all merchants and consumers should abide by the corresponding pandemic prevention measures, wear masks and maintain the necessary safe distance.
He stressed: “Once the market works, it will develop well. We don’t want stores to close or strike again, and the government will continue to support businesses and employees.”
George Karanicas, president of the Greek Business Federation, said that there were no problems when retail opened on the 18th.
He also showed great optimism about the retail industry that operated during the winter discount season, emphasizing that “enticing discounts will help attract consumers, while the market will gradually return to normal.”
With the opening of retail stores, attention has been focused on the plan to restart other sectors of the Greek economy.
According to a source, the government has no intention to open up other sectors of the economy at present, and when the restrictions will be relaxed will depend on the direction of the pandemic after the retail industry recovers.
In addition, the goal of the next phase of the Greek government is to open junior high schools and high schools. At present, the most likely time for schools to resume classes is February 1.
The Government Health Expert Committee will make a final decision on the opening of schools next week.
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