Retail businesses want the government to issue vouchers that can be spent in their shops before it distributes those that apply to hotels and restaurants.
“They cannot wait any longer. Retail outlets need strong consumption to make up the losses they have suffered over the last six weeks,” the CEO of the Malta Chamber of SMEs, Abigail Mamo, said.
Non-essential shops and services, such as hairdressers, beauty shops, clothes shops and florists, are being allowed to reopen on Monday as pandemic restrictions are cautiously eased on the island.
“Businesses have been gearing up and preparing for weeks to reopen and they need the vouchers to help boost sales,” Mamo told Times of Malta.
Malta aims to issue the second round of COVID-19 vouchers within weeks of restaurants and cafes reopening their doors, the government has told the catering industry.
The detail of the island’s roadmap for easing restrictions emerged in a meeting between the Association of Catering Establishments (ACE) and government representatives.
Matthew Pace, spokesperson for ACE, said the organisation was told that although the cash vouchers might not be available on restaurants’ first day back, the government “hopes” to issue them “within weeks”.
Malta’s proposed timetable does not set out a date for the opening of cafes and restaurants but
“This does not mean that people will be able to flout mitigation measures. People will need to continue to follow such regulations – the wearing of masks, maintaining adequate distances, and hygiene measures – now more than ever,” he said, adding that he understood the concern of sportspeople and restaurant owners.
It is yet unclear when restaurant owners will be allowed to start hosting patrons again, however, Abela said the government’s support will remain for as long as needed.
Almost one in every five restaurants have had to shut down throughout the past year, the Association of Catering Establishments said on Friday.
Throughout the past year, almost one in every five restaurants have had to shut down, the Association of Catering Establishments said on Friday, amid increasing pressure on the government to announce a plan for the reopening of eateries.
Data compiled by ACE found that between March 2020 and March 2010, some 19 per cent of establishments had closed down, on top of another 12 per cent of restaurant owners who had put their operation up for sale or rent.
Restaurants have been closed since last March, following a spike in COVID cases that saw catering establishments shut their doors to patrons for the second time throughout the pandemic.
COVID closed one in five restaurants, ‘owners suffering from mental health issues’
Association wants restrictions removed, vouchers reinstated and wage supplements running till the end of 2021
16 April 2021, 11:57am
by Matthew Vella
The Association of Catering Establishments has claimed one in five restaurants has shut down under pressure of the latest COVID-19 public health restrictions.
Restaurants and bars were forced to keep their doors shut to the public except for delivery and take-away services, after Malta experienced a heightened increase in second-wave infections back in March.
According to the ACE, a study it carried out with an unspecified number of suppliers found that between March 2020 and March 2021, approximately 19% of establishments closed down.