Development Minister Adonis Georgiadis has ruled out the possibility of lifting lockdown measures and curfew restrictions before the Greek Orthodox Easter.
“There will be no Easter exodus this year. The lockdown will definitely be in place also then,” Georgiadis told Skai TV on Sunday morning, a few weeks ahead of the Greek Orthodox Easter on April 19.
Many people on the mainland travel to the Greek countryside and island villages to celebrate Greek Easter with family, yet the minister has sadly diminished that hope.
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Saying that the country has done well in managing the coronavirus crisis, he stressed it would be “a very big mistake” to have the virus transmitted to the countryside as most cases have been recorded in Athens.
The minister warned that there will be strict police controls to prohibit thousands of cars leaving the cities and thousands of people travelling to their villages.
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Media reported on Saturday of government plans to even close the highway tolls around the Easter time.
The lockdown has been (initially) imposed for the period March 23-April 6, 2020, yet media reports are suggesting that this time will be extended at least another two weeks.
Earlier, Minister of Health Vassilis Kikilias stressed that “we have a very critical month ahead” and warned that “no one should relax, we must stay home”.
