THE effect of the Coronavirus pandemic has been felt in every aspect of life worldwide, it has been 7 months since the UK we into lockdown on March 24th and businesses across the country still face the financial uncertainty.
With government’s grants, business loans and schemes introduced over this time, sadly this was not enough for many businesses who have closed or had to cut their workforce. Here at Londra Gazete we went to local business within the community and spoke to them to see how they have been deal with the pandemic and what troubles they face.
Söngül Aydın
Söngül Aydın, who is in the restaurant and live music sector in North London, stated that she has re-opened her restaurant by taking all precautions but said: “… We are in the process of recovery now, but with new measures, it has affected us again. People are a bit afraid of going to bars, pubs or restaurants, and the mask incident also affects us negatively. Government officials should implement a support plan to keep businesses afloat, and if this process continues, we will most likely to close…” Adding “We are having serious difficulties, we cannot pay rent, unemployment has increased, we’ve had to lay off our workers… ”
Yusuf Kemal
Yusuf Kemal, the owner of a pet shop in Edmonton Shopping Center, said, “Covid-19 affected us very much. For example, we did not have a limited number of customers in the store, but now we can get a certain number and people have to wait outside. As the waiting period gets longer, customers don’t wait any longer and leave the queue. As a result, we lose customers. Let the government at least help with our rents. Rents are very expensive; we can try to survive if assistance is provided…” expressing that if the situation continues he can see his business closing next year.
Mutlu Çavuşoğlu
Mutlu Çavuşoğlu, who works in a plumbing and construction shop said, “Most of the businesses were of course affected, but we were not affected much since our shop was in the construction sector. The reason for this is that many of the people were idle at home during the coronavirus process, and they were engaged in construction work. For example, they decorated their home or garden.” He also added that at the begin more people obeyed the rule since then he believed people are not taking measure seriously.
Mehmet Şirfikir
Mehmet Şirfikir, a butcher shop owner stated that they were financially affected by the coronavirus and Brexit, “… I hope everything will be fine soon, but we have a chance to shut down again. If we shut down again, both the coronavirus and our leaving in the EU will be a huge blow to us. Meat in this country is not enough for us and comes from abroad. There has been a 50% decline in our business up to now and this continues…”