Longford Leader Editorial: Longford businesses need support

After a hiatus of two months, the businesses that returned on Monday, and it must be borne in mind that some have closed permanently, are returning to a changed landscape.

That is one of the few certainties they face.

The retail experience is going to be different and will require more planning and organisation by owners and managers themselves, and the prospective shoppers.

However, the resilience of many of these businesses should not be underestimated and their inventive and creative approaches to adapting to this new situation will no doubt be very evident.

Longford Chamber of Commerce and the Local Enterprise Office have been to the fore in planning the way ahead and, while much of this planning is necessarily tentative, it is nonetheless very promising.

One possible positive to come out of the Covid-19 crisis may be a renewed focus on the local. Indeed, the shop local call which emerged last week is something we should all consider and try to put into practice.

Now, more than ever, local businesses need our support. The intrinsic value of local shops, food suppliers and indigenuous businesses was something that came to the fore during the lockdown.
It should just as much be a feature of post lockdown life as well.

Meanwhile, this week will undoubtedly see a much greater movement of people as the “new normal” gets underway.

It behoves everyone to go about their business in a safe and responsible way.

This virus has not gone away you know and vigilance is going to be required for quite some time.

The guidelines are there and should be practiced by everyone as this process of adjustment gets underway.