It is time to reopen Malta for business according to the Chamber of Commerce, which however cautioned against mixed messages sent out to the public.
In a personal video blog on Monday, Chamber president David Xuereb said it was time to reopen the economy and for people to return to work in a safe and responsible manner.
He added that employers needed to be prepared to cater for the safety of their employees.
“Opening the economy needs to happen as quickly as possible… with the utmost professionalism and responsibility so that all key principles are taken care of and we continue to ensure that the number of infected remains low.
“We should not open at all costs. Confidence must be re-introduced into the economy responsibly and in a way that respects all safety standards,” he said.
The Chamber's comments come on the same day that hoteliers made a clear plea for authorities to reopen the airport, saying the country faced "mass unemployment" if that did not happen.
Prime Minister Robert Abela has indicated that restaurants and non-essential services such as hairdressers will be allowed to reopen this week. There has been no talk of reopening air travel as yet.
Mixed messages: go shopping but stay indoors
Meanwhile, in comments to Times of Malta, director-general Kevin Borg said the chamber’s members felt that “the country was at times given incomplete and non-assuring messages”.
This was the case when people were told that they could go shopping for non-essential items but were at the same time encouraged to stay indoors and apply strict social distancing rules.
“This was further compounded by overnight, incomplete direction when it came to the management of the new protocols the retail industry had to put in place in a matter of hours.”
Two weeks since lifting COVID-19 restrictions on retail outlets, it was time to take stock of the situation and address shortcomings, Borg said.
Business owners and the public had acted in a disciplined and responsible manner, however, the “uncertainty characterising every aspect of our lives is possibly the main worry that the retail industry could ever have”.
The ‘storm’ for the retail sector came to a climax by the abrupt closing of the airport which immediately shut off a significant portion of businesses, the sudden drop in domestic consumer confidence and disposable income, restricted access to shops and other social distancing precautions such as the use of fitting rooms.
Although “understandable”, this measure defeated consumer confidence, Borg said, calling for the relaxation of this restriction under “strict, precise and safe guidelines”.
The continued closure of schools created further headaches for retailers because staff were torn between their jobs and the needs of their families.
Meanwhile, some landlords were still demanding full rent. In most cases, rent was a business owner's second-largest expense after employee wages.
The government, Borg believes, should support businesses that are adapting fast to the new normal, working incessantly to adapt to the ‘storm’ rather than waiting it out.