‘A tough pill to swallow’: Local businesses react to new COVID-19 measures
Posted Dec 9, 2020 12:40 pm.
Last Updated Dec 9, 2020 12:41 pm.
CALGARY (660 NEWS) – There is mixed reaction to the new public health restrictions, especially for those in the hospitality sector.
On Tuesday, the Alberta government announced restaurants, bars and lounges will close for dine-in services starting Dec. 13.
Other retailers will be allowed to stay open but only at 15 per cent of its capacity limits.
Most business owners in Calgary say if these measures help flatten the curve and get businesses back to normal quicker, then they’re all for it. However, they point out challenges will still lie ahead.
“Every entrepreneur out there that has toughed it out up to this time, we stand with you and we hope we can all get through this Christmas season together,” said Ernie Tsu with the Alberta Hospitality Association. “It’s going to be tough to lay off more staff but we’ll try to do our best to hold on to as many people as we can.”
RELATED: Lockdown of bars, gyms, salons; provincial mask mandate among new COVID-19 restrictions
Tsu said he would’ve liked to see a full lockdown rather than these targeted measures but at the end of the day this was expected and they’re preparing for it, pointing out it’ll be devastating to a lot of businesses, not just hospitality.
“We’ve been the targeted industry even though we’ve had the lowest amount of cases coming from restaurants and local pubs.”
Others in the industry like Sal Howell who owns the River Cafe in Calgary said these restrictions are necessary but it’s still a tough pill to swallow.
She added most people will get the message and stay home for the next few weeks and businesses should adjust quickly to accommodate these new measures.
“This is hard and we’re going to need lots of help. The wage subsidy, the grants, all that is going to help us a lot. We intend to survive this along with everyone else.”
According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, about half of small business owners worry they may not survive if further lockdown measures were put in place without government support.
