Shopping in Georgia this Holiday: What to Consider
Shops in the cities of Georgia will remain open until, and including, January 2. During this period, customers have a chance to purchase theor choice of clothes, electronics, jewelry and other items, yet, must adhere to the additional restrictions and regulations imposed by the government, aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus.
For the record, shops are only allowed to operate if they follow the already established and additional rules, in particular:
- Working hours of shops can be from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm;
- Customers should be admitted to retailer premises under strict management of flow, whereby:
- No more than 1 customer should be admitted per 20 m2 in the retailer premises;
- Queue management should apply both in external and internal premises of retail shops;
- Discounts should be announced predominantly for shopping in morning hours and/or online sales;
- Dressing Rooms will remain closed at retail shops trading with clothes;
- At the same time and for the protection of customer rights, commodity return or exchange policy should be permitted during the month and should occur only after February 1;
- Eateries at shopping malls will be placed under a ban and neither take-away service will be permitted;
- Queues in any space and outside a retail shop should practice social distancing and the uniform wearing of face masks;
- Responsibility on the aforementioned shall rest with the administrations of retail shops;
- If and when any violation of the rules is identified, every measure promulgated in the law will apply including penalties and suspension of operation.
From January 3, shops will be closed again and only online shopping will be permitted. They are expected to be allowed to continue operating in a live format from January 16.
Notably, restrictions on movement from 21:00 to 05:00 will be lifted as an exception on New Year's night and on the night of January 6th, Georgian Christmas.. Nevertheless, the government calls on citizens to celebrate the New Year in a small family circle.
From January 3 to January 15:
All restrictions imposed from 28 November to 24 December shall be reinstated;
Public and private institutions will not operate, except for banks, pharmacies, supermarkets, animal food shops, and objects and services of strategic importance.
From January 16 to January 31, the work of shops and open and closed fairs will be resumed, but closed on weekends.
From January 16 to January 31 across the country:
Operations of municipal and intercity transport, shops and outdoor and indoor markets (except weekends) will be restored;
BUT on weekends, transport, shopping malls and markets will stop working;
During this period, transportation by car (including taxi) will not be restricted, nor will restrictions apply to other economic activities, including:
Public and private construction-repair activities- allowed;
Banking and financial activities- allowed;
Operation of grocery stores, animal food stores, pharmacies, veterinary pharmacies, household chemicals and hygiene stores and press booths- allowed;
Delivery and takeaway services- allowed;
Operation of beauty salons and aesthetic medicine centers- allowed;
Car maintenance and technical inspection services- allowed;
Home appliance repair services -allowed;
The operation of the agrarian markets -allowed.
And so on.
The full list of restrictions imposed in the country, which were temporarily and partially eased throughout December 24-January 2, is available here
By Ana Dumbadze