The Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has set out the 'Roadmap out of Lockdown'.  The government plan is to have Greece out of lockdown, in a three-step process, by mid-May.  The first step in getting Greece back to normal is the opening of restaurants, cafes and tavernas to outdoor dining on Monday 3rd May.  The curfew will also be changed to restrict travel only between 11:00 pm and 05:00 am.  The second step is the resumption of in-person schooling on Monday 10th May for middle school and elementary school students, with testing expected for students and staff.  The third step is to allow tourism to resume on Saturday 15th May.  Visitors from abroad who have been vaccinated or have a negative coronavirus test will be allowed into the country. Travel between regions will also be allowed.

Malls, shopping centres, outlets and department stores will be permitted to operate from Saturday 24th May, and open on Sunday 25th May.  Shoppers must either send an SMS to number 13032, fill a form or simply supply their details.  Shoppers must preserve the 13032 SMS, as they are only allowed three hours from its submission to complete their shopping.  Additionally, beauty centres and beauty salons which offer makeup, facials and other cosmetic services will now be allowed to reopen from Saturday 24th May.

Mitsotakis warned Greek people not to be careless about the coronavirus now that the restrictions will be lifted soon.  He said that the country's epidemiological situation is stabilising, despite high case numbers and intubations.  The most important way the public can help keep coronavirus infections down is to obey laws prohibiting travel during the Easter period, the ban on inter-regional travel cannot be lifted until after Easter.  Another important defence against the virus is the vaccination process, to achieve this, vaccinations will be made available for all people aged 30 and over by Greece's Holy Week, 3rd May.  There will be no vaccinations carried out on Easter Sunday.  This is part of Greece's all-important plan to have a lockdown-free and safe summer.

Restrictions over the Greek Orthodox Easter period:  Curfews will be altered during Holy Week, starting from 10:00 pm until 05:00 am, as inter-regional travel will continue to be banned.  Up to two households can celebrate Easter together in one house, with a total of nine people maximum, for indoor Easter dining and family gatherings.

All Easter church services from Palm Sunday, 25th April, to Holy Wednesday, 28th April, will begin half-an-hour earlier, at 6:30 pm.  Holy Thursday service will begin at 5:30 pm and on Good (Great) Friday at 6:00pm.  Instead of the customery Midnight Resurrection service on Easter Saturday, 1st May, the liturgy will be held at 9:00 pm.  Indoor attendance will be limited to one person per 25 Sqm, a maximum of 100 people.  Double-masks must be worn.

Easter closing:  All shops and stores will be closed on Easter Sunday 2nd May, Easter Monday 3rd May and on Tuesday 4th May.  Store will be able to hold their Mid-Season Sales from Wednesday 5th May until Saturday 15th May.