Govt asked to permit all retail outlets, shopping malls in high vaccinated cities

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LAHORE: The Chainstore Association of Pakistan (CAP) asked the NCOC and Federal Government to permit all retail outlets and shopping malls in high vaccinated cities to operate for seven days a week as is the case for all other sectors. According to a letter to the NCOC, the CAP stated that one safe day now primarily applies only on Chainstores in the highly vaccinated cities. The NCOC has announced incentivization with relatively relaxed NPIs in the eight high vaccinated cities of Pakistan on September 29. As per NCOC notification, the eight “High Vaccinated Cities” included Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta, Mirpur, Muzaffarabad, Gilgit, and Skardu. Major cities such as Lahore, Karachi, Faisalabad, Multan, Peshawar and others were excluded until next review on October 13 by the NCOC as per the

notification. The CAP is compelled to request the urgent intervention to include retail businesses in the sectors allowed to operate seven days a week, as the one safe day now primarily applies to this sector alone in the high vaccinated cities, the Chairman CAP Tariq Mehboob stated to the letter to the Chief of NCOC Asad Umar. Tariq mentioned the organized retail sector was already strictly following the restrictions on entry to fully vaccinated individuals only. ‘Based on this high level of compliance, it is surprising that they are not allowed to operate on the remaining one day of the week while restaurants, cinemas and all other businesses are permitted to operate throughout the week. However, such other businesses located in shopping malls are also unable to generate sufficient revenue due to closure of retail outlets in them’, the CAP chief stated. The shopping malls, Chainstores and high-street markets are structured to operate 7 days a week and their fixed costs such as rentals, payroll, common maintenance, etc. are all set accordingly. On the other hand, only unorganized retail and wholesale markets were already closed one day a week before the pandemic therefore closure on the one (1) safe day does not particularly impact them. Nevertheless, all retail businesses, organized or otherwise, should be permitted to operate throughout the week which will also reduce congestion on other days. Tariq hoped that rather than facing unbalanced restrictions, compliant retail businesses would also be incentivized in line with all other sectors, therefore setting a positive example for all sectors and citizens in cities considered less-vaccinated by the NCOC to return to normal as soon as possible. It is important to mentioned here that several organized retail businesses already shut hundreds of their outlets permanently due to financial collapse in the backdrop of compounded impact of restrictions/partial lockdowns in the covid-19 pandemic. Further, the remaining retailers have reached a critical stage where payments against supplies, rents, salaries and overheads are no longer possible having exhausted all reserves and financing options. This situation is already having a domino effect on the liquidity of over 70 allied sectors including domestic manufacturing, cottage industries, wholesale trade, service providers, and dozens of other upstream businesses and the large workforce employed across the value chain. The CAP urged the government and NCOC for immediate intervention in the High Vaccinated Cities initially, although vaccinated businesses in all remaining cities should also be allowed to open normally to revive the overall economy now that the 4th wave of the pandemic has receded.

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