ATHENS – Deputy Sports Minister Lefteris Avgenakis on Thursday evening outlined the partial lifting of coronavirus restrictions for individual and collective sports activities and sports facilities.

Effective as of Tuesday May 5 and until mid-May, when measures will be revised, as he said, individual training at sports facilities will only be allowed for professional athletes who have already qualified or are qualifying for the Olympic Games.

All other non-professional athletes, including junior league athletes, will only be allowed outdoor training and for low-risk personal sports only.

Teams in the premier division football league will also be allowed to train in strictly smaller teams of 6-8 players and always in open fields.

Public swimming pools will remain closed for the time being, but open-sea swimming will be allowed as of Tuesday.

Athletes in the martial arts, which are considered contact sports, will only be allowed to train individually for physical conditioning alone, and always outdoors.

The minister stressed that a 2-meter distance between anyone training in any sport should be observed.

Changing rooms, showers, canteens at sports facilities and small gyms will remain closed.