In the store there is a complaint about the schedule

The retail business based in the capital city, in the voice of the Córdoba Chamber of Commerce (CCC), claimed to have been “surprised for good” by the degree of opening of activities authorized this week by the Emergency Operations Center ( COE) provincial. Since yesterday, the downtown and pedestrian businesses began to take advantage of the new scenario gradually.

According to a survey by the CCC carried out on a representative sample of 60 businesses belonging to the different items that are now allowed to receive customers on the premises, 55 percent reopened their doors to the public yesterday.

About 40 percent were unable to return to activity because they were located within shopping arcades (they are not yet enabled, like shopping malls), while the rest assured that they will start receiving clients from today or tomorrow.

“Something to highlight is that in all cases the shops say they will continue with the sale on line and use of delivery parallel to the opening ”, added Nadia Villegas, general director of the CCC.

He also pointed out that, among the businesses that enabled customer reception for a geographical proximity of a thousand meters, about half were attended by their owners, while the rest did so with employees. In all cases, the established sanitary protocols were respected.

“The opening is absolutely positive and we are very happy and hopeful to sell as much as possible,” said José Viale, president of the CCC.

He acknowledged that the COE’s decision was more permissive than they thought, although of course the entity was bidding for the return of the activity of the largest possible number of merchants.

From now on, the focus of the camera will be on working on the opening hours set today from Monday to Friday from 2 to 8 pm, while on Saturdays it will run from 9 am to 2 pm. “The Center’s locals ask that it be earlier, because At 6pm there is no one left on the pedestrian. One proposal is to lower it from 13 to 19 ”, revealed Viale.

Another demand of the entity is that the businesses located in the galleries can also open to the public, since, according to the business chamber, around 30 percent of downtown commerce is based there.

Wholesalers

Lucas Romero, president of the Chamber of Wholesale Merchants and Industrialists of the Province, celebrated the reopening of retail trade to the public and stressed that the expectation of the sector is to be able to have the same possibility in a few days, “next Monday perhaps”, if this new phase is going well. “The retail business is good news because it implies that our customers will be able to start selling. We are going to bring a proposal to the COE so that, when it is authorized, we can work in the morning, so the merchant buys at that time and sells in his business in the afternoon, “he said.

Real estate and dealerships left

The real estate agencies were released from quarantine yesterday and worked behind the scenes, as agreed with the Emergency Operations Center (COE): Monday through Friday from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Saturdays open from 8:00 a.m.

According to Agustín Tea Funes, head of the Chamber of Real Estate Brokers of Córdoba (Cacic), in the offices there should be one person every 20 square meters and they can only serve the public on Monday, Wednesday and Friday with previous shifts, staff rotation, two meter distance and protective measures. In addition, the sector cannot show houses in person or take units for sale, since it is not authorized to go to the house to make an appraisal.

“After 50 days without being able to go to the office, the authorization is important, since it allows closing pending operations, such as rentals or removals to reserved properties,” he said.

For the broker, the deep recession and economic uncertainty will make real estate prices in dollars, which were 10 to 15 percent cheaper than in more normal times before the pandemic, drop to more than 25 percent .

Miriam Pagani, vice president of the Córdoba College of Auctioneers, drew a similar picture and added that the auctions were not yet authorized by the Superior Court of Justice (TSJ).

For their part, car dealers, who until last week could receive units in after-sales workshops and deliver spare parts, were enabled yesterday to sell remotely and also deliver the vehicle in delivery format to the buyer’s home.

Now they ask to keep the entire operation at a distance, but to deliver cars in the salon with previous shifts, with the same scheme as the real estate companies.

“Shopping”: confidence in being the next

The full empowerment of activities to most of the retail trade in the Capital generated – among the shopping malls and shopping centers – the expectation of being “closer” to being able to open its doors. That was the feeling conveyed by consulted local executives, who trusted that, if this new phase does not trigger problems on the epidemiological front in the Capital, the COE could authorize them to open their doors in a few days. This began to happen already in some provinces where contagions are controlled, such as Corrientes or Jujuy.

To advance in this line, shopping centers will bring their operating protocol closer to the authorities this week. It was made from the national chamber that brings together the sector, but with certain nuances depending on the characteristics of each complex.

They propose reinforced hygiene practices, entrance controls, social distancing and other care. In this Capital, only the seven main shopping malls bring together some 980 places and islands, of which a minimum percentage (essential items) today receives public.

New authorized activities

Retail commerce. Those businesses located only on the street or on pedestrians returned to activity in the city of Córdoba and in Greater Córdoba, with the exception of shopping malls, shopping centers and galleries. They open from Monday to Friday from 2:00 to 8:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Attention will always be provided through the DNI termination: even days for even numbers, and vice versa.

Private construction. Representatives of the Argentine Chamber of Construction and the Construction Workers Union of the Argentine Republic (Uocra) will analyze a progressive mechanism for starting private work in Córdoba and Greater Córdoba.

The companies had presented a protocol for the activity, which should be implemented by all the works that return to their execution.

Gastronomy. Restaurants and bars may only sell on the go. The option for diners to attend gastronomic venues is still restricted (the crowding of people is still prohibited). To the delivery modality that had already been working, the COE added the option to take away (take away food) in the city of Córdoba and in Greater Córdoba.

Concessionaires. They will remain with their exhibition and sales venues closed. In this new stage, automobile and motorcycle dealerships will only deliver units of operations already closed, under the delivery modality. They may continue to carry out operations online.

Hairdressers. Since yesterday, hairdressers can also start working. It is an item whose opening was highly anticipated, both by women and men. These premises must work with attention to the allocation of previous shifts, with one client at a time for every 20 square meters. They can attend from Monday to Saturday.

Professionals. The activity of independent professions such as accountants or lawyers was also enabled. These will be able to work indoors, from Monday to Saturday from 8 to 20, and with customer service only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with scheduled shifts, from 14 to 20. According to a study by Fepuc, the activity of some professional categories fell up to 60% in quarantine.

Industries. Many industries are already working since last week. For them, there is no established schedule (it is decided by each company).

Each of the industries must comply with a protocol that indicates an hour of separation (for disinfection) between shift and shift. But, in addition, we always work with 50% of the plant staff.

Real estate. Real estate agents can now work, albeit indoors, from Monday to Friday from 2 to 8 p.m. Attention to their clients must be with a previous shift, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from 2 to 8 p.m. Until now, the collection of Rentals were made by transfer or by homebanking.

Removals. Until Sunday, removals were prohibited. But now they have been enabled by the new regulations. They can be done within the same city, on Saturdays, from 2 to 8 p.m., and on Sundays, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. If you need to move to another locality, you must request authorization from the destination municipality.

Social works. Social works may partially reopen its doors. Now they are authorized to work indoors from Monday to Friday, and with attention to their affiliates in shifts from Monday to Friday from 2 to 8 pm. During the quarantine, many social works, both public and private, had enabled the authorization of medical orders or of medications via online.