Albania Reopens Its Business Sector Because It Cannot Withstand The Impact Of The Lockdown

Photo illustration of a cafe in Durres, Albania (Jury Gianfrancesco / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - If you look closely, the COVID-19 pandemic has been able to paralyze the economic sectors of countries around the world. Moreover, the virus from Wuhan is able to lure existing countries to impose lockdown policies. As a result, the wheels of a country's economy are disrupted.

How come. Starting from the business center, shops, and offices, they closed their doors. As a result, many countries have later revised their lockdown policies so that the economy will revive, as has just been done by Albania by reopening around 600 business activities on Monday, April 20.

The Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, said that if they do not hurry to restore the economy, Albania will be prepared to lose 540 million euros in revenue by June.

Therefore, the re-opening of business activities is a must for the Albanian government. This is because government finances have already been hit by the earthquake in November, because they had to rebuild houses for 17 thousand people.

Sadly, this condition is exacerbated by the presence of around 50,000 workers who have lost their jobs in the past month. This means that the government will suffer if the policy to reopen business activities is not taken.

To that end, the government will immediately publish a list of businesses that are allowed to operate through its official website starting Saturday. It is noted that businesses that have obtained permits consist of the agriculture, fishery, food processing, and retail sectors.

The rest, ranging from banks, construction companies, communication service centers, supermarkets, companies transporting goods and clothing manufacturers remain open during lockdowns.

Even so, the Albanian government continues to emphasize its citizens to comply with physical distancing recommendations when they return to work. On that basis, punishment awaits those who do not obey the rules of guardianship. Unmitigated, the government will imprison those who do not enforce the rules.

Meanwhile, since the beginning of the pandemic detected on March 9, Albania has now recorded a total of 548 positive cases of infection, and 26 people who have died due to the malignancy of COVID-19.