Freedom Day may have brought much-anticipated relief for Britons at many levels, but one cannot rule out the possibility of rising infections and the agony of the ongoing economic crisis in the business sector. Boris Johnson’s government will make the use of Covid “passports” mandatory for all nightclubs in England if venues owners do not use certification voluntarily, No 10 has said.
“We encourage nightclubs to use the Covid pass – many of them having been using it in pilots,” said the prime minister’s official spokesperson on Monday. “We will certainly consider mandation if necessary.” The No 10 spokesman added: “We encourage [venues] to use certification. We are reserving the right to mandate certification in certain venues – may be at a later date if necessary, and we will keep that under review.”
Asian Voice reached out to business owners in the Asian community to get a sense of what lies ahead for Asian businesses, especially when it comes to the caution among people taking public transportation to travel and starting to accept the new normal accompanied by Test and Trace’s “pingdemic”.
Staff shortage
Speaking to Asian Voice about the economy of Asian businesses, Anjum Khan, Director of ABCC (Asian Business Chamber of Commerce) said, “Asian businesses will be, like other firms, exposed to staff shortages, if their staff are required to isolate after being exposed to Covid and contacted by Test and Trace. Lots of Asian firms operate in the hospitality, retail and wedding industries, sectors that heavily rely on in-person staffing. If a business operating in this sector has a number of staff isolating at once, this could result in more closures, postponement of events and cash losses for these businesses, which have already been hit extremely hard during this health crisis. Businesses are critical to helping to stem the number of Covid cases, and their adherence to government guidelines and policy on isolation rules are essential. But, the government must make the Test and Trace system more efficient, and we would urge policymakers to explore the possibility of moving forward the date, currently 16 August, whereby people that have been fully vaccinated do not have to self-isolate if they are identified as a close contact of someone who has contracted Covid. Otherwise, we will, unfortunately, continue to see firms suffer, due to staff being required to take time off to isolate.”
Consumer habits set to shift again
Ami Rabheru of The Retail Business Hub said, “I am a retail Business mentor helping SME’s specifically and this could have a huge negative effect on their recovery going into the most important ‘half’ of their business. With the consumer habits set to shift again with the relaxation in the lockdown, they are desperate to get out to the shops and experience physical retail again so business owners have to be ready if they are going to succeed. If the staff of small businesses are being asked to isolate by NHS they may simply have to shut down their bricks and mortar shops for that period of time which will inevitably hurt their recovery for what is the biggest half for most retail businesses.”
Very little guidance
Commenting on the situation, Giovanna Hussain of Gigi’s Hoxton told us, “Although we are extremely happy to have the restrictions lifted after what seemed like an eternity for venues like ourselves that heavily promote live music, live DJs, drag shows and many more.
We are faced with very little guidance as to what measures will be looked at favourably by the councils. So we have decided to not ask for the vaccine passports at this stage. We will take temperature checks upon entry and encourage the use of sanitiser throughout our venues. Our Qr code for the NHS Test and Trace will be mandatory and those who do not have will sign our in-house signing sheets. I am encouraging my staff to wear masks where possible and a bi-weekly rapid test is mandatory for the staff.”
If a chef tests positive, the whole kitchen goes down
Sachin Parmar, Creative Director at Evokeu and MSDUK member told the newsweekly, “In our business, we work with many sectors. It's a scary time, particularly for hospitality clients we work with, which will be severely impacted. If a chef tests positive, the whole kitchen goes down, it's just not sustainable. This week, I've seen first-hand getting the tube in London this week that many commuters have totally relaxed the rules despite the government guidance to wear masks. But for me, it's about protecting myself, my family and my employees. I will still be testing as required and wearing masks for the foreseeable future. And, my advice to businesses is to reach out to organisations who have provided invaluable guidance for our business throughout the pandemic."
React quickly for survival
“As things open up, the test and trace system will continue to impact our business, as it did from the beginning. As a business that is operating in the food, hospitality and e-commerce area, I think one thing we've learned throughout the pandemic is that we need to be extra proactive and agile. One real positive of being a smaller business is that we have learned to react quickly for survival and to pivot to push another area of our business. It's also about looking for organisations that can support your business, open up new opportunities for you, and help your business reach more clients in this new and unfamiliar hybrid workplace,” Surinder Hothi-Bellamy, Co-Director at Pure Punjabi Ltd and MSDUK member told Asian Voice.
Inbound tourism is practically dead
According to reports published in national media, foreign visitors are shunning the UK this summer to avoid the quarantine rules, leaving businesses that rely on them bracing for “no real income” this year. “The inbound tourism industry, usually one of the UK’s most valuable exports, is “practically dead”, leaders have warned, with Visit Britain predicting tourists will spend just £6.2bn in the UK this year – a dramatic decline from the £28.4bn spent in 2019,” iNews reported. Apparently, the tourism sector faced mass cancellations due to travel restrictions in one day.
Kurt Janson, director of the Tourism Alliance was quoted as saying, “So inbound tourism is practically dead, highlighting the plight of hotels in Manchester and attractions such as theatres in London’s West End, Madame Tussauds, the Tower of London and Edinburgh Castle.
