The Portuguese Association of Shopping Centers (APCC) reiterated today that the limitation of hours in force in Shopping Centers in the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon (AML) “is discriminatory and unjustified”, calling for the Government to reverse this rule.
In a statement released today, on the eve of a decision by the Council of Ministers on this matter, the APCC asks the Government to revert its closing decision at 8 pm, “since these spaces and their tenants guarantee all conditions security for visitors and store employees, not representing any added risk of contagion of the new coronavirus, as shown by Shopping Centers in the rest of the country, operating without limitations since June 1 ”.
The Government is expected to deliberate, on Thursday, on the total reopening of Shopping Centers in the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon, where 35% of the country’s centers are concentrated and which ensure 50% of the total employment generated by the sector at national level. The stores in these spaces must currently close at 20:00.
“APCC associates consider that there are no objective reasons for maintaining these restrictions on Shopping Centers, which have shown, like few other spaces, the ability to guarantee the safety of visitors, tenants and store employees, not only complying with the rules established by the executive and the recommendations of the Directorate-General for Health, but also the best practices of this industry at a global level ”, says, in the note, the president of APCC, António Sampaio de Mattos.
The APCC president recalls that “since June 1, Shopping Centers have been operating without limitations in the rest of the country without registering any incidents”.
“Maintaining the reduced opening hours of Shopping Centers at AML will reinforce the significant impact that this measure is already having, severely and arbitrarily conditioning the economic recovery of the activity of Shopping Centers and their tenants and putting at risk the preservation of jobs ”, concludes António Sampaio de Mattos.
As of June 23, the APCC had said that it “does not understand” the new time limitation imposed on these AML establishments, warning that, contrary to what was intended, “it may boost a greater concentration of people”.
“We understand the concern of the Government and the health authorities in minimizing the risks of gatherings outside the rules in force, but we reiterate that the Shopping Centers, due to the characteristics of their operation, and because they comply with rules to limit entry, have and never have had gatherings ”, maintained, at the time, the president of the APCC.
For António Sampaio de Mattos, “limiting the opening hours of Shopping Centers at AML can boost a greater concentration of people, precisely the opposite” than is intended, in addition to continuing “to create factors of uncertainty, with negative impacts on the operation centers, their tenants and the trust of visitors ”.
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