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The ban on traffic on Easter Sunday and possibly Monday is now considered possible, as the government wants to prevent visits to friends and relatives in the middle of the holidays, which could lead to a new outbreak of the virus in Greece.
The response given characteristically yesterday by government spokesman Stelios Petsas, when asked about the possibility of a general traffic ban on Easter Sunday: “We are considering taking whatever measures are needed […] the responsibility of the government is very important, especially for the protection of the public health. I do not rule anything out, all the options are on the table and we will do what the experts suggest. “
The parameters considered by the government staff are:
- The duration of such a measure: whether it will last only one day or whether it should be valid until the early hours of Easter Tuesday (April 21)
- The type of vehicles that will concerns: in addition to private cars, the question remains open as to whether the ban on taxis and public transport will be tested.
- “Stop” visitation to the nearby holiday homes. The police want to avoid the exit of citizens from Athens to holiday homes in the surrounding areas, such as in eastern Attica (Rafina, Nea Makri). For this reason, The Hellenic Police has drawn up a special operational plan with a block on key road arteries. Indicatively, strict checks will be carried out that day on Marathonos Avenue, in Markopoulou, in Varis – Koropiou, on Pentelis Avenue to Nea Makri and elsewhere.
- A universal traffic ban on Easter Sunday is considered the last step to be taken, although only the assessment and the fear that many citizens will ignore the restrictions, trying to visit friends and relatives despite the health risks. However, the daily “Kathimerini” cites information that the government is considering the implementation of the ban on the circulation of private cars as early as Saturday night, when the stores will close at 8 p.m.
- Drone and night binoculars. Road blocks will be strengthened and inspections will be on a 24-hour basis on national roads, main entrance and exit arteries on major urban centres, as well as regional roads and side streets. The Hellenic Police department plan to include drone over flights to control traffic and even stations where officers will be equipped with night vision binoculars at night.
- Closed cemeteries On Good Friday, all cemeteries in the country will remain closed and for all other days, the same applies to cemeteries and places of worship.
- On the same day, (Holy Friday) food stores, which are scheduled to be open, will be open only for 6 hours, from 1pm to 7pm. (this has already been announced)
- SMS for visits – Neither now nor “in the future” Yesterday, the government spokesman made it clear that there is no exceptional scope for simple visits to friends, relatives or even neighbours – neither for Easter nor for the days of quarantine that will follow. “In the future, there will be no field in the travel form that provides a visit to a neighbour, friend or relative,” he said, adding that exceptional travel is only allowed for the six options available to date. Regarding the reasons why it is dangerous, from a health point of view, to gather people around an Easter table – even if there are not many people – and whether it will be responsible for not observing safety distances or sharing dishes and glasses, Sotiris Tsiodras noted yesterday that although the virus is not transmitted through glasses and forks, some say that even with speech one could transmit it when he has mild symptoms, and is mildly symptomatic. These are the possible restrictions that may take place over the next few days. At the moment we have seen the food shops restriction on Holy Friday being open only for six hours. Also cemeteries will be closed on the same day.
FINES.
If you are caught the fines still stand. According to the decision, in cases of circulation outside the regional unit of the place of residence, in violation of the provisions of the decision, the fine amounts to three hundred (300) euros.
In cases where the movement is attempted by vehicle owner, the administrative measure of the on-site removal of the license plates of the vehicle for sixty (60) days is also required, according to the procedure of article 103 of the Road Traffic Code
source: ERT1
