NEWS

How the retail sector will operate as of Thursday

How the retail sector will operate as of Thursday

As of Thursday, the click-and-collect (dubbed click away by the government) shopping option will stop, the Secretary General of Commerce and Consumer Protection Panagiotis Stampoulidis said on Wednesday, presenting the changes in every sector of the market.

The only shops that will operate with a physical presence as of Thursday are food stores (supermarkets, mini-markets, bakeries), open-air street markets, pharmacies, pet shops, telecommunications companies (exclusively for the repair of appliances and the payment of bills), hearing aids and wig stores, (by appointment), florists (especially for 13-14/2/2021).

All other retail businesses are restricted to electronic sales only (e-shops).

Personal beauty care services are also suspended, even these are offered in medical facilities, such as clinics and medical centres.

Laundry services, fuel stations, motor vehicle safety testing centres (KTEO) and repair garages will remain open. Customers can only visit by appointment, booked over phone or electronically. Their opening hours are until 8.30 p.m. on week days and until 5.30 p.m. on Saturdays.

Kiosks will be permitted to operate on a 24-hour basis.

The businesses that will stay open will operate with the following rulesQ

– Opening hours (optional): on weekdays from 7 a.m. until 8.30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 7 a.m. until 5.30 p.m..

– On Sundays, only grocery stores, patisseries, bakeries, etc. are allowed to operate until 5.30 p.m. Supermarkets can remain open to complete their electronic orders until 5.30.

– Restaurants and cafes will operate as take-aways, drive-throughs and deliveries.

– The maximum number of customers allowed inside the stores will be one person per 25 sq.m. while a two-metres distance will be required between customers.
– Open-air markets will operate at half their capacity in the number of sellers, and a three-metre distance between stalls.

– Visiting a shop requires an SMS to 13033 with option 2 (Go to an in-store supply of essential goods, or by filling in a movement application form or by having a handwritten movement application.

– The consumer must keep the message sent to 13033, in order to prove the time of sending and approval of his movement.

– Maximum duration of shopping trips has been set at two hours.

– Pharmacies and gas stations operate at the hours provided by more specific provisions for them.

For opticians, hearing aids, wig stores and florists, opening hours (optional) on weekdays will be from 7 a.m. until 8.30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 7 a.m. until 5.30 p.m.

It will be mandatory to make an appointment either electronically, by phone or through the digital application e-Consumer.

For February 13 and 14, flower shops are permitted to operate via the clock-and-collect and click-inside (for purchase in the shop by appointment only), between the hours of 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.

Those who want to visit a flower shop will have to send code 2 on their phones.

The above measures will remain in force until the end of the month.

[ANA-MPA]

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