ΑΤΗΕΝS — The new shutdown in the retail sector will require bold measures to save businesses from permanent closure, the Athens Trade Association said on Tuesday evening.

Following the new shutdown of stores announced by the prime minister for stores in Attica, the Association said that the continuing rise of coronavirus cases in the general population during store lockdowns proves that the retail sector is one of the "safe" sectors in terms of dispersal.

"We have frequently stressed the third lockdown will lead to the permanent shutdown of one in two businesses, and in order to avoid this we must apply immediately a giant support plan, carefully and in a targeted manner, without exclusions and exemptions," it said in a statement.

"The financial proposals we have tabled so far are no longer able to deal with the nightmare businesses are facing," it said, calling for urgent action, while adding that if there are no additional support measures, "a deep economic crisis will follow us for many years ahead."

Government is lagging behind the pandemic

The government is lagging behind the pandemic, said Movement For Change (KINAL) party leader Fofi Gennimata on Tuesday.

She was criticizing the televised announcement of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the shutdown of the Attica retail sector and schools to the end of February.

In her statement, she said the government's handling of the pandemic "has failed, by way of problematic measures."

The government's latest decisions "must be accompanied by daring support measures for workers and businesses," Gennimata added, noting that "workers on suspended labor contacts cannot live on 534 euros for months on end, and business owners be forced to shut down permanently."