The retail sector in Greece was preparing for its reopening today, April 5, after the government allowed stores to tentatively operate in an effort to help the economy and tackle lockdown fatigue.

However, stores in the administrative regions of Thessaloniki, Kozani and Achaia will remain closed until at least April 12, after health experts decided on Friday that the epidemiological data in these regions did not allow for any relaxation of the rules.

In other regions, shoppers will be allowed to order products remotely and collect them from outside the stores (click-away) or book an appointment to go to a shop (click-in-shop) by sending a message with their name and address to 13032. The time limit for purchases is three hours per day.

On Saturday, Athenians rushed to parks and beaches taking advantage of the good weather and the relaxation of the rules on inter-municipal movements.

Roads along Athens’ southern coast were busy as people from other districts were able to drive to the beach.

This article was first published on ekathimerini.com