Covid-19 measures that come into force on Monday will add further pressure on an industry which has already been hit hard by the pandemic, the Association of Catering Establishments (ACE) said on Wednesday.

The government had announced in December that, as from January 17 only those who are vaccinated can go to bars, restaurants, gyms, pools, cinemas and sporting events. Establishments must close at 1am. The measures were announced amid a spike in daily cases, caused by the Omicron variant.

In a statement ACE said it supports the introduction of health measures so as to avoid the increase in numbers of Covid-19 cases. It feels, however, that this should not be to detriment of the catering industry.

Some of the measures will add further pressure on an industry which has already been hit hard by the pandemic and, subsequently, by a human resource crisis, it said.

“Losing non-vaccinated staff is not an option. Moreover, the measures announced for non-vaccinated staff should not be limited to the catering industry but rather should be implemented across the board so as to ensure a fair and just system.”

The association added that the industry does not afford to have a different time bar on foreign vaccine certification vis-a-vis a domestic one.

 It said it is “pointless” to implement policies which can never be adhered to. 

“In this light, ACE calls on the Superintendence of Public Health to be reasonable, to keep in mind the challenges the industry is facing and reconsider the measures proposed.  ACE also calls on the authorities for further enforcement on people who are blatantly abusing quarantine. Such abuse is creating further damage to the industry. Such reconsideration and recommendations are being proposed so as to avoid that such measures and lack of enforcement will be the nail in the coffin of the catering industry.”