Why Will Outdoor Cafes in Belgrade Remain Open Until 11 PM?

Between fifty and seventy thousand people in Belgrade directly depend on the operations of hospitality facilities, which is why the city has decided for the counter-corona measure to be that outdoor cafe and restaurant areas may remain open until 11 pm, while complying with all the epidemiology measures, stated the deputy mayor of Belgrade, Goran Vesic.

He said on TV Pink that Belgrade was the biggest epidemic hotspot and that more than 80% of the COVID-19 patients were in Belgrade, causing the Government of Serbia and the City Crisis Response Team to adopt special measures for the city.

– Belgrade is the only city whose outdoor cafe areas may remain open until 11 pm, because two million people live in Belgrade and we believe that people should be able to sit outside, while complying with all the personal distance measures and other epidemiology measures – Vesic said.

According to him, in Belgrade, nearly 30,000 people work in the food and services sector, around 15,000 work in the clubbing sector, and “if we add those who are hired on a temporary basis and those who live from it, there are around 50,000 to 70,000 people who depend directly on the operations of these facilities”.

– For these people, this is their and their families' livelihood, so we've done our best to have the outdoor areas open until 11 pm. I hope that this is a good compromise between economic concerns and healthcare concerns – Vesic emphasized, as reported by Beoinfo.

He reminded that, the week before, measures pertaining to the public transport had been adopted and that the measure of mandatory wearing of masks in public transport vehicles and all indoor areas had been adopted. He added that the crisis response teams on the city level and the state level had also adopted measures pertaining to the working hours of facilities in the city territory.

– All stores, shopping centers and restaurants are open until 9 pm and can take one person per four square meters. The mandatory wearing of masks applies. This will remain in effect for the next two weeks – Vesic specified and added that he hoped that the situation would improve in that time, allowing for a gradual easing of the measures.

Grad Beograd

Goran Vesić

operations of hospitality facilities

cafes

outdoor cafe areas

pandemic

coronavirus

Covid 19