Lockdown of retail trade should be last resort: Retailers Association of India

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jan 4, 2022

The Retailers Association of India has urged the central government to only consider the partial or total lockdown of retail activity as a last resort, amid rising Covid-19 cases and the Omicron variant. 

“Partial or total lockdown of retail businesses should only be considered as a last resort in case of extreme strain on healthcare infrastructure as ensuring economic health and continuity of employment is as important as saving lives,” said the RAI said in a statement on January 3, the Press Trust of India reported. “Emphasis should be given on strict adherence to Covid appropriate behaviour such as masking, social distancing and sanitisation by citizens and businesses alike.”
 
The RAI said that ensuring the economic prosperity of the country is equally important in terms of saving lives as the economic fallout of Covid-19 has also led to death. The RAI stressed the importance of enforcing Covid-safe behaviour but avoiding panic and economic catastrophe. As the Omicron variant has been detected in 23 states and Union Territories thus far, a new wave of the pandemic is now unequivocally under way. 

“We hope all states adopt this model and make decisions about restricting economic activity (based on) hospitalisations rather than the positivity rate,” said the RAI.

There are current reports that the Omicron variant is less deadly than other variants, especially in vaccinated people, prompting the RAI to ask the government to focus on hospitalisations over positive cases.