Government defrosts shopping in galleries from February 1
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“We are opening stores in shopping malls from February 1, of course, in compliance with the sanitary regime,” Minister of Health Adam Niedzielski said. Still, there will be a limit of people in shops and shopping malls – a maximum of 1 person per 15 sqm. It should also be remembered that in public spaces it is obligatory to cover the nose and mouth. When entering the store, you should disinfect your hands or use protective gloves during all shopping.
“We were approached by entrepreneurs asking us to abolish the hours for seniors. We will agree to the appeal, the hours for the seniors will be abolished from February 1,” Adam Niedzielski added.
The remaining restrictions were extended until February 14. This means, among others, that gyms, fitness clubs, and water parks will still be closed. The same applies to the catering industry. Meals can only be issued to take away or deliver.
“We adopted today's communiqué from the Government on loosening the lockdown and lifting the restrictions without surprise. It could not have happened otherwise. The government has delayed decisions to open our stores in malls long enough to prevent us from returning to commercial activities. Our industry is sinking - today we have been thrown the last lifeline, and in fact, we were just allowed to swim,” the Management Board of Association of Polish Trade and Services Employers (ZPPHiU) commented.
Spring restrictions on the operation of stores in commercial facilities resulted in a gap in the tenants' turnover at the level of PLN 17.5 billion, the autumn lockdown resulted in a decrease in turnover by PLN 6 billion, and the current ban on store operations will bring an estimated further PLN 6 billion losses. In total, it is over PLN 30 billion in lost revenues of shops and service providers operating in shopping centers. The lockdowns also affected landlords' budgets – their annual revenues fell by PLN 5 billion, i.e. over 45 percent of annual values.
