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Coronavirus: along with thousands of stores closed 4 months ago, a Palermo shopping mall reopened

2020-08-03T20:34:17.988Z


It is the Arcos District, which has an outdoor promenade and is in a high-traffic area, until now restricted for commercial activity.


Irene Hartmann

Gonzalo Herman

08/03/2020 - 17:21

  • Clarín.com
  • Cities

The longest quarantine in the world , already over four months old, is slowly withdrawing its claws. With fear and caution, the Government of the City of Buenos Aires tests the virus and allows more and more businesses to reopen. The number of new infected in Capital has risen and this gives rise to unlocking the trade, which has been in check since March 20, when the mandatory closure was decreed .

This Monday, despite the pressure not to continue releasing those arriving from the Province, the Buenos Aires government moved forward with what was promised: to allow the reopening of some 19,000 commercial premises on high-circulation avenues, with blocks from Santa Fe, Cabildo, Corrientes or Rivadavia . In technical terms, the opening stage 1 has been consolidated , the first scale of a scheme of six with an objective at the end of the road: a return to normality. 

Several stores on Avenida Santa Fe and Cabildo raised their blinds for the first time after closing. And among them were those of the Arcos District , the first shopping mall to open for being an outdoor walk.

They were all canceled for more than 120 days and the employees of these places began to believe that they would never reopen. "Starting again is very rare. I haven't been here for four months. At some point I thought the company was going to close permanently and I was going to be out of a job," confessed Alicia, an employee of a clothing business in Belgrano.

The shops on Cabildo Avenue in Belgrano are among the nearly 20,000 that were able to reopen after being closed for more than four months due to quarantine. Photo: Luciano Thieberger

The Arcos Shopping District reopened along with almost 20 stores that were closed for more than four months due to quarantine. Photo: Maxi Failla

For Ignacio, who works in a local toy store, also returning to work after so long is strange. "I spent all this time with my son and trying not to go crazy. At last I could do something with my time. We still take all the necessary precautions to avoid contagion . We do not let more than three people enter and customers cannot touch the products "says Nacho, who works in a toy store, which was also unopened for a quarter.

Nacha, who cares for people at another clothing store, confesses that she has mixed feelings. "On the one hand I am relieved. But the concern did not go away. We do not know how long this will last. Maybe in a week, the government decides to close everything back. Hopefully the opening will last this time, because the situation is distressing" , express.

In the Arcos District, in Santa Fe and Juan B. Justo, they use a system to count the number of people, which cannot exceed 1,948 people . Of the three accesses, only one is enabled. And the gastronomy venues work as in the rest of the City, in the delivery or take away mode.

The areas where businesses will reopen

Tap to explore the data

Source: GCBA Infographic: Clarín


In addition,  Clarín was able to know that the shopping promenade reopened with 100 percent of its 60 stores and 30 occupied gondolas. In each one, the same protocol applies as for the clothing and footwear sector: there are no fitting rooms and the number of people that can enter depends on the size of the trade.

Another key point of the City is Villa Crespo. There continues the growing trend of movement of people that has been experienced since the second half of June. The Corrientes and Scalabrini Ortiz area also suffered the blow of the Pigmento perfumery fire , which left a significant part of the businesses idle.

The flexibility "in fact", with blinds "at half-staff" and some inspections of members of the Buenos Aires Government that did not go beyond warnings "every two days, more and less," according to the employee of a shoe store in the most commercial area.

This Monday, many that were closed for more than four months were able to reopen, despite the fact that it was not known among the neighbors if they would raise the blind again after the prolonged inactivity .

The shops in the most congested blocks of Corrientes Avenue are among the almost 20 thousand stores that could not work for four months due to the quarantine. Photo: Luciano Thieberger.

Where more revival was seen was in Scalabrini Ortiz, between Corrientes and Camargo. A large clothing store on Corrientes, a large house selling suitcases and purses, and shops for adult clothing and children's "knick-knacks" of well-known chains once again exhibited their windows to the public.

Clarín spoke with several merchants who agreed that online sales did not even cover 50% of the turnover prior to March 20. Others, on the other hand, reported that they did not reach 20%, and stated that despite everything they maintained the staff of employees. The Camargo and Scalabrini mattresses were the exception: "Sales did not drop at all ... a lot was sold online," said the manager.

Susana, in charge of a small sports clothing store on Scalabrini Ortiz, lamented that she was "only a few meters from Camargo ... if she had been on the other side, she would have been able to open," she said, adding: "Online sales barely It was enough to pay for the services. I am full of debts and in the bank they denied me a credit because they ask me for a fixed term. If I had money, obviously I wouldn't ask for the credit. It's stupid".

SC

Source: clarin

All news articles on 2020-08-03

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