Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – Before the next federal-state summit on the corona measures, the retailers in the southwest are pressing for an end to generally prescribed shop closings. «Retail urgently needs an open perspective. It doesn’t work without them, ”said the general manager of the Baden-Württemberg Trade Association, Sabine Hagmann, of the German Press Agency. “The current hard lockdown must not continue without a clear opening perspective for traders.” Adhering to the previous “general and watering-can measures” beyond February 14 would not be understandable, she said.
The federal and state governments want to discuss how to proceed in the corona pandemic next Wednesday. The focus of the switching conference between the Prime Minister and Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) should be the question of whether the current hard lockdown with many closed shops and schools and daycare centers in emergency operation will be extended beyond February 14th. In retail, only shops for daily needs such as supermarkets, drug stores and pharmacies are currently allowed to open.
Hagmann found that the closure of the trade had not resulted in lower corona infection numbers. She suggested that the federal and state governments should now define in a transparent and binding manner according to which nationwide uniform standards and values regional gradual loosening could take place. For example, one could orient oneself on the seven-day incidence, on the age of the newly infected, on the current stress on the health system or on the progress of vaccination. Focusing solely on the limit value previously defined by politicians of 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days is not expedient.
In the worst case, the Southwest Industry Association expects up to 12,000 business closings and bankruptcies due to corona in the next two years. The association represents the interests of 40,000 companies with a total of more than half a million employees.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210204-99-294940 / 2
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