ATHENS — Addressing an online meeting of the cabinet on Monday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described the government's current task of returning the economy and society to some semblance of normality that is also combined with health protection measures as an "extremely difficult exercise" and "an equation with two catalytic factors".

Analysing the situation, he said that on the one hand were the vaccinations and on the other hand the citizens, and the behaviour of the country's productive forces."It is a wager that I am certain that we will win," underlined the prime minister.

According to Mitsotakis, the initial figures were encouraging. "Most of our compartriots seem to understand the importance of avoiding travel during Easter holidays and everyone has welcomed with maturity and discipline the gradual opening of a number of economic activities. At the same time, the [vaccine roll out campaign] "Eleftheria" is being expanded and from Monday, people aged over 30 enter the fray. We are reaching 3.0 million vaccinations and, if we follow our plan, at the end of May we will reach 5.0 million vaccintions.

"Every next step should be taken cautiously, with safety and with constant self tests, social distancing, masks and with personal hygiene, so that the country opens and does not close again," Mitsotakis stated.

Regarding the tax cuts and other measures annouced last week, he said that "we are giving back to the middle classes what they were deprived of by the previous government and, at the same time, with a plan for tomorrow we correcting the injustices of yesterday".

Finally, addressing the members of the Cabinet, he announced that Tuesday marked the conclusion of a "huge effort in which you all participated and the country will officially submit to the European Commission the National Recovery and Resilience Plan."