According to current government plans, there should be no complete unlock for unvaccinated people anyway. “We need the opening on December 13th,” says trade chairman Rainer Trefelik. The pre-Christmas period is the time with the highest sales in retail. “Even if the government’s support measures, such as the absence bonus or the extension of short-time work, are important, the loss of Christmas business cannot be compensated for,” Trefelik points out.
The florists don’t scatter roses either. They note that a large part of the business has already been lost due to the pandemic and that one of the most important seasons is now imminent. “In the six weeks before the end of the year, i.e. from mid-November, our companies make around a third of their annual turnover,” calculates Federal Guild Master Johann Obendrauf.
Wolfgang Suitner, Federal Spokesman of the Austrian Event Organizations, describes an end to the lockdown on December 11th as “existentially necessary”. “The rumors of an extension for individual industries, including the event industry, are a slap in the face for our member companies, create uncertainty and primarily punish all those who have supported and complied with all protective measures up to now,” emphasizes Suitner.
The fitness club operators also climb the barricades. “For many companies, an extension of the lockdown would no longer be possible economically or emotionally. Due to the lack of planning security, many people are thinking of giving up. Many employees are also considering changing industries,” explains industry spokesman Christian Hörl.
The mood is also heated up at the thermal baths. “Many of our operators are now slowly but surely reaching the limits of what is economically feasible and need the promised opening. Since there is at least the possibility of cushioning the previous economic losses during the Christmas holidays,” says thermal spokesman Patrick Hochhauser.
The dance schools also feel trodden on their feet. Spokesman Andy Wankmüller describes the current situation in his industry as depressing and exhausting. The majority of sales are generated in the autumn and winter months.
A further extension of the lockdown would be a catastrophe for the Austrian cinema and cultural industry, ongoing media speculations on this cause incomprehension and frustration among the companies, says Christian Dörfler, chairman of the professional association of cinema, culture and entertainment companies.
The fact that the lockdown for vaccinated and convalescent people ends on a Saturday and not at the weekend is due to the fact that the main committee of the National Council only approves it for ten days, so it would have required a separate resolution for only one day for an extension to Sunday.
The government decided on the lockdown with reservations at the end of December 11th for vaccinated and convalescent people at the Tyrolean Aachensee, which is why the catering industry likes to speak of an “Aachensee contract”. The fact that different opening steps were discussed on the rumor exchange depending on the industry – retail, gastronomy and hotels not – had recently also caused displeasure between the interest groups.
Source: Nachrichten
