After several weeks that saw a totally unprecedented global lockdown with more than 4.5 billion people confined, some countries are beginning to see the first signs of a return to activity. Just after Austria, it is the turn of Germany and Luxembourg to adopt post-COVID-19 measures, including the implementation of progressive de-containment to manage public health imperatives, psycho-social aspects and the resumption of economic activity, which has almost completely come to a standstill. This strategic change has taken place since Monday 20 April 2020.
If Germany and Luxembourg are among the first countries to be able to implement these first de-containment measures, it is largely due to their preventive and proactive management of this health crisis. Germany, as a federal model, has been able to adopt a collegial decision-making process, based on compromise and discussion between its different länder. Germany, with its 8 hospital beds per 1.000 inhabitant and a very rapid adoption of screening tests (500,000 tests per week announced) has succeeded from the very beginning of the outbreak of the virus in mitigating its impact on its population in terms of hospitalization flows and also its case-fatality rate, one of the lowest in the Euro zone. It is thanks to this management and an adequate control of the crisis that our German neighbors can afford the luxury of a quicker way out of the crisis.
This is why in Germany, where the epidemic is in a phase of clear regression, shops are restarting their activities. On Monday, shops with a sales area less than or equal to 800 sqm reopened their doors under strict conditions of hygiene, access control and avoidance of queues. Car dealerships, bicycle dealers and bookshops are also reopening, regardless of their sales area. Restaurants, bars and pubs, on the other hand, must remain closed as before. As a reminder, construction sites and food retail shops have never ceased their activities. The return of employees to their place of work is also carried out with strict measures of health and safety, distancing and with the total confidence of the authorities and the employers for the good respect of these rules of life.
In the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and with a very similar political management, the building and public works companies were able to reopen their activities this Monday after a few weeks of forced rest. Construction, renovation, transformation, maintenance and overhaul sites are now back in service, as the Luxembourg government has begun to deconflict this sector because it is easier to control it. Furthermore, the reopening was accompanied by a substantial test phase and there is permanent monitoring to consider the restarting of other economic activities. Certain businesses such as hardware stores and gardening shops as well as the activities of recycling centers, gardeners, landscapers and businesses selling mainly seasonal products are also resuming their activities.
This strategic lifting of restrictions by the German and Luxembourg governments is a strong catalyst for the resumption of MIMCO Capital's activities. Our presence in these two countries, which have been cited as an example for their management of the crisis, consolidates the foundations of our investment strategy. Thanks to the support measures taken very quickly by the federal government, all players in economic life have been able to benefit from aid to help them "weather" this unprecedented shock, particularly our tenants.
These gradual de-containment measures are already being accompanied by a recovery in the activity of some of our tenants. Aware of the interest of all in having a consensual vision, we will work with our tenants to find solutions to catch up on rents on a case-by-case basis.
The foundations of our group are based on a business model based on prudential management and our know-how. Our geographical and sector diversification of our funds, as well as our ability to adapt to new behaviors to meet the needs of our market, are the guarantees of our long-term success.
While respecting current containment measures and remaining attentive to the evolution of the epidemic, MIMCO Capital is beginning to emerge from the crisis and is continuing its development with the completion of several acquisitions in Germany and Luxembourg, in addition to the resumption of construction sites and support for the takeover of a number of businesses.
