Essex Chambers of Commerce: Businesses can't operate on a stop-go basis
Concerns have been raised on the impact the second lockdown will have on businesses.
The Prime Minister announced on the weekend that a four-week lockdown will be in place in England from Thursday 5th November and last until 2nd December, after saying in previous weeks that a "circuit breaker" lockdown wouldn't be necessary.
Both Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, have stressed the coronavirus rules will be time-limited and they hope the measures will be sufficient enough to reduce the rate of coronavirus infection.
They were forced to stress their intentions after Michael Gove said the lockdown may last beyond the cut-off date if needed.
A vote on the measures will take place in parliament on Wednesday, a day before they are expected to be implented.
Food shops, supermarkets, and certain other retailers will remain open for the duration of the lockdown, but other non-essential shops will be forced to close their doors once again.
According to the Government's website businesses that will close include, but are not limited to, are:
- Clothing shops, electronic stores, vehicle showrooms, travel agents, betting shops, auction houses, tailors, car washes, tobacco and vape shops.
- Indoor and outdoor leisure facilities such as gyms, leisure centres, bowling alleys, theme parks, golf courses, etc.
- Entertainment venues including theatres and cinemas, museums, concert halls, zoos, botanical gardens and bingo halls.
- Personal care facilities such as hair, beauty and nail salons, spas, tattoo and piercing parlours, tanning salons and non-medical acupuncture.
Non-essential retail hospitality venues can remain open for delivery and click-and-collect, and unlike the first lockdown, playgrounds can remain open.
With the lead up to Christmas, which many businesses across Essex rely on for revenue, the Essex Chambers of Commerce is concerned about reported uncertainty around the end date.
David Burch, Director of Policy, said: "I think the worry is that we've seen reports from ministers that this lockdown could end on the 2nd December, and then quickly be brought in again. Businesses cannot operate on a stop-go basis as they are having to do at the moment.
"There will be many businesses that rely on Christmas to boost their revenue across the year, that's particularly true for businesses in the hospitality sector. Those will of course have to close down completely and they will potentially have lost bookings as well, which they won't necessarily be able to move on to later in the year.
"Some businesses will be able to work through online shopping and that is a real boost, but that won't apply to everyone. There will be winners and losers in this scenario, but I think our concern is that there's potentially more losers than winners."
David continued to urge the public to take all the necessary precautions to avoid coronavirus infection and if they do experience symptoms to get a test and self-isolate.
He concluded: "Nobody wants us to be in this position, we want us to get back to what was normal as quickly as possible. We want to be able to shop and enjoy the hospitality sector that we have in our great county.
"So I think the message from the Essex Chambers to everybody is to keep safe."