Associations: Economy for uniform opening steps in pandemic

The Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce and the BDI industry association have called for nationwide and clear opening steps in the corona pandemic from the federal and state governments.

Before the consultations on Wednesday, DIHK President Peter Adrian said in Berlin: “More and more companies are threatened by the pandemic – concrete opening steps are therefore now crucial. The situation in trade, hospitality and the leisure industry has deteriorated considerably as a result of the corona measures.

BDI President Siegfried Russwurm emphasized that the industry expects more ambitious targets for the new phase of the pandemic. “A clear national roadmap for further pandemic management is overdue,” said Russwurm: “We need directional decisions for further dealing with the virus, which primarily serve to prevent and ward off further waves.”

Important signal

Adrian referred to a recent DIHK survey. After that, the proportion of companies with liquidity bottlenecks increased significantly, in the hospitality industry even almost doubling to 35 percent since autumn. “The announced opening steps are therefore an important signal for the crisis industries and our inner cities.” According to Adrian, the closures in the past two years have made the question of the future of inner cities even more important. “Because many dealers and service providers are based here. But strong inner cities are much more than business locations.” Attractive inner cities are also a decisive factor in attracting skilled workers.

The federal and state governments are considering a phased plan for the extensive elimination of the corona protection measures by the beginning of spring on March 20th. This is provided by a proposal coordinated between the Chancellery, the chair and co-chair of the Prime Ministers’ Conference (MPK), which is available to the German Press Agency. “In a third and final step from March 20, 2022, all more far-reaching protective measures will no longer apply,” it says. The federal and state governments want to set the further course this Wednesday in a new MPK switch.

DIHK President Adrian warned, “Trade, gastronomy and the leisure industry now need nationwide and clear opening steps – also in order to be able to give clear signals to our own customers”. But politicians can also act on the spot: “Active measures that can be implemented quickly include festivals and markets, as well as the suspension of special usage fees.”

Corona rules must not become permanent

The BDI also pointed out that companies were groaning under significant corona-related staff shortages, inconsistent pandemic conditions and high voluntary investments to protect their workforce. “This must not become a permanent condition for the coming years,” Russwurm warned. Looking at the course of the year, a high vaccination rate remains the most effective way out of the pandemic. There is a risk of new waves of infection by autumn at the latest.

In view of the stagnating number of vaccinations, the BDI believes that the federal and state governments have a clear mandate not to lose any more time in deciding whether vaccination is mandatory: “It would be negligent to neglect the crucial instrument of mandatory vaccination in the phase of responsible easing that is now beginning.”

At the same time, Russwurm said it makes sense to now decide on concrete, gradual easing steps. The first responsible opening steps should only be taken after the peak of the omicron wave: “We cannot afford to unnecessarily prolong the infection process by acting prematurely and thus get caught in a pandemic loop.”