The Council of Ministers will discuss a proposal to open restaurants, shops and parallel markets from 6 am until 10 pm, Al Qabas daily reports. The shops in the malls will also be covered by this decision. Under the previous government decisions, stores and restaurants must close at eight in the evening, and therefore this decision will remain in effect until a contrary decision is issued by the Council of Ministers at its meeting on Monday.
Restaurant owner’s statement
A gathering of restaurant owners issued a statement declaring their rejection of any new measures that double the losses for their small and medium enterprises. The statement reads: “We announce our categorical rejection of any new measures that will multiply the losses of our stores and small and medium enterprises, some of which were closed as a result of ill-considered decisions that caused many problems including where we reached a stage unable to pay rents. This has also caused a demobilization of our workers as a result of total and partial curfews over the past months as part of government measures at the beginning of the coronavirus crisis.”
The statement added: “In order to assume responsibility and protect us from the decisions that are expected to be issued by a government agency that does not take into account our interests at all, we demand our right to reject any new closure timings of our restaurant businesses and to prevent any decision that would stop our business after nine o’clock in the evening, which forces us to bear double losses.”
He stressed the importance of cooperation and providing government guarantees that protect our commercial interests and to benefit from the experiences of developed countries in protecting commercial projects. The statement concluded: “We have endeavored to communicate our suffering through the media to stop the cruel and unjust decisions that were issued that only look at the health aspect and did not take into account our commercial interests and the restaurant sector in particular.”
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