Expert: cafes and restaurants will open after the first week of May

“After Easter, restaurants and cafes will be reopened to serve their visitors outdoors,” Deputy Development Minister Nikos Papatanasis said this morning on the OREN channel.

“I cannot give an exact date. Easter is ahead, this is an important event. We need to see how the epidemiological situation will develop, and only then concrete decisions will be made, ”he said, once again explaining that entrepreneurs in this sector should not wait for the opening until Easter, and everything shows that the opening of catering is expected after the first week of May …

“No government in the world wants businesses to remain closed. Of course, we want all activities to start as early as possible, but everything depends on the decision of the Commission of Epidemiologists. So we will wait until next Friday to see how we will move on, ”explained the Deputy Minister of Development.

With regard to measures to help catering enterprises, Mr Papatanasis said that 333 million euros will be allocated for the industry in the first days of May, adding that later an additional calculation will be made and enterprises will receive additional support, especially those who suffered the most.

“We continue to support the business. The government does not want to close factories or lose jobs, ”he said.

Self-test in retail, catering and tourism in the near future

Among other things, Mr. Papatanasis said that in the next period mandatory self-testing will be included in the retail sector. “In the near future, we are talking about these industries. This is followed by tourism, followed by public catering. It will be announced in due course how and when this measure will be introduced, ”the deputy minister explained.

Mr. Papatanasis highlighted the tourism sector, stressing that it is a very important sector of the economy and expressing confidence that “this year everything will be better than in 2020”.

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