https://www.rtl.lu/news/national/a/1633773.htmlOn Monday afternoon the government announced shops, beauty salons, crèches and schools would be closed, with the new measures coming into force from 26 December. Reactions to the news have been mixed.
Luxembourg City’s Commercial Union president Guill Kaempff said the consequences of “lockdown 2.0" would be harmful to the sector, and added he did not think it was necessary at this stage, with under 500 daily new infections. He said this was the threshold previously given by the government to justify the closure of the Horesca sector, and criticised the fact that further closures were now taking place.
Kaempff went on to say he hoped for equality between small businesses and larger corporations which populate the Grand Duchy’s shopping malls. He said vast economical inequality had developed during the first lockdown in March, as shopping centre stores continued to offer products which were not essential, while smaller businesses had been forced to shut their doors. Further financial support was required otherwise a large number of businesses would fail to survive a second round of closures, he added.
The Federation of Artisans expressed hope that shoppers would act responsibly last week, but this did not happen. General secretary Romain Schmit said a lockdown could have been prevented with stricter measures in shops.
The OGBL union’s education branch, SEW, said they understood the measures introduced in Monday’s press conference; however, teaching staff would not welcome distance learning for longer than a week. Patrick Arendt, the syndicate president, said the first lockdown in March had caused a substantial number of educational delays, many of which are still outstanding today. However, the decision made by the government was right, said Arendt. The last weeks of the autumn term resulted in numerous infections among pupils and staff, meaning the narrative that schools were not a source of infection no longer corresponded with reality.
The SEW went on to say they hoped the measures introduced by the Ministry of Education to tackle the educational delays caused by lockdown would be re-evaluated in January, to relieve pressure on pupils.
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The CSV welcomed the news of the new restrictions, with leader Martine Hansen stating they had long been asking for a second lockdown. However Hansen wondered why the opposition parties had not been informed on Saturday, under the assumption that the text regarding the new measures would have been complete at that stage.
Hansen also criticised the fact there was no clear prediction for the criteria which would decide new measures after 10 January. She said transparency was required, as were clear perspectives to keep the population motivated.
