ATHENS – State Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis, in an interview with Star TV late on Thursday, unveiled the government’s plan to gradually lift restrictive measures.

“The purpose is, in accordance with the measures, to be able to regain our lives, to be able to return to society and markets,” he said.

He explained that the government has prepared an operational plan for transition to normalcy. Without giving an exact date for the beginning of the new phase – and that is because, as he said, it depends on epidemiological data – he estimated that the first phase of the transition to normalcy will begin in early May, while some activities will begin on April 27.

What is certain, he stressed, is that the transition phase will last throughout the two months of May and June – which means that we will have a gradual de-escalation of the measures. Shops will be opened, any traffic restrictions will be reduced, we will have a gradual transition to normalcy, but we must follow certain rules that have become part of our way of life, he clarified.

“Our lives will not be the same in May during the transition period to normalcy. It has become part of our conscious awareness and our collective subconscious that we must change our way of living,” he said.