Mitsotakis to meet with catering and retail representatives

The new measures for the coronavirus have provoked the reaction of retailers and food service providers, who fear a drop in turnover due to restrictions on the unvaccinated.

In this context, the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis today will receive the representatives at his office at the Maximos Mansion.

The meeting comes at a time when the government is extremely worried about the new wave of the coronavirus, as a result of which the resilience of the National Health System is being tested in some parts of the country.

The purpose of the meeting will be to monitor the implementation of the new measures, which the government insists on, while at the same time assuring that there is no case of a new lockdown.

Food service sounds the alarm

The alarm bells are being sounded by food service entrepreneurs who say there is a 50% reduction of customers and in fact “without any compensatory measures and with the threat of severe fines and the sealing of our stores, with the imposition of non-applicable measures, which are equivalent with an informal lockdown.”

At the same time, the Minister of Development, Adonis Georgiadis leaves open the possibility that vaccination will become mandatory for catering workers.

As he said on the MEGA television, “it is not ruled out that at some point we may proceed to the mandatory vaccination of other categories of workers. During the summer it was practically impossible, because there was a shortage of employees in the restaurant sector. Now, these needs may be less, given that tourism is slowing down.”

Changes

Businesses licensed for health care concerns and providing indoor catering services, including stores inside galleries, closed shopping malls and inter-city bus stations, will operate at 100% occupancy, only as spaces  exclusively for the fully vaccinated or for those that had contracted the disease.

– In companies that operate in open spaces, customers will enter after a mandatory presentation of a vaccination certificate, or disease certificate, or a certificate of negative PCR or rapid tests while minors between 4-17 years can submit as an alternative a self test.

– Open outdoor space is defined as the space that is outside the boundary of the building that houses the store and is open from at least 2 sides. The rules of open spaces also apply to outdoor spaces located in ventilated galleries.

– The open space for the activities of the specific point is defined as the space that is outside the boundary of the building that houses the store and is open from at least 2 sides. The sides of the space that are protected from the wind and are up to 1 meter and 30 cm in height from the floor of the venue are not considered closed. The roof, if there is one, of the open outdoor space is not considered an enclosure. The rules of open spaces also apply to outdoor spaces located in ventilated galleries.

– Also as mentioned in the Official Gazette, the new measures provide for the possibility of operation, at the discretion of the enterprise, with the appropriate marking, not exclusively with seated, with customers who have been vaccinated or were ill during the last six months (and minors exclusively with a negative self -test), and the rules of operation for indoor spaces.

– These measures also apply to the operation of wineries if wine tasting or degustation is carried out in such.

– The operating conditions of the companies in outdoor spaces also apply: a) for the operation of the food service venues and the operation of the outdoor reception areas, b) for the operation of the restaurants, refreshment stands and cafes of the hotels, which are located outside .

– Operation of restaurants, refreshment areas, cafes inside hotels and airports, which serve only residents / travelers, as well as other fully vaccinated or formerly sick customers . The capacity in this case is set at 65%, live music and events / receptions are prohibited.

– Hotels that have more than one indoor restaurant are provided with the possibility of operating specific areas in such, at the option of the company, with the appropriate signs, with the customers (including outside customers) being purely persons who have been fully vaccinated or that were ill in the last six months. In this case the occupancy rate can be 100%.

The same operating conditions, the same health rules and requirements apply to operation of food service and reception areas inside hotels.

– Take away, delivery and drive-through services are allowed without the presence of customers in the internal area of responsibility of these companies and without the need to show certificates of vaccination or illness or a statement of negative diagnostic / self-diagnostic test.