Stelios Petsas

Government spokesman Stelios Petsas and Development Minister Adonis Georgiadis will announce the restrictions on the retail sector that will apply during the holiday season on Friday at 11 a.m.

Reports said that the reopening will be "reasonable and conservative," as per the recommendations of the committee of health experts advising the government on Covid-19.
 

Hair salons will likely open on Saturday or Sunday, the Athens Chamber of Commerce announced on Thursday, citing a telephone conversation between the head of the body, Yiannis Hatzitheodosiou and Development Minister Adonis Georgiadis.

The Chamber said these businesses will open first as it is believed that it is easier to enforce the health protocols. 

The annual minimum amount in online transactions required of taxpayers may be reduced to below the existing 30% threshold, given the market conditions. This is a decision the government will make in 2021, before the submission of income tax declarations.

A decision on retail stores, which remain closed after an extension to Greece's lockdown due to the continued spread of coronavirus, will be announced by Saturday, government spokesman Stelios Petsas said Wednesday.

After extending the lockdown - which will impact a wide range of activities - until January 7, the government is weighing its options with regard to the Christmas season and whether it will allow retail stores to open and churches to function.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called Archbishop Ieronymos on Tuesday to discuss what would be the appropriate way to celebrate Christmas this year, amid the pandemic.

Government spokesman Stelios Petsas has said that the government will announce its decisions on whether to reopen churches, hair salons and stores at the end of the week.

Greece's struggle with the coronavirus pandemic remains a difficult one, a month after the lockdown began, according to the country's color-coded epidemiological map.

The Greek government's final decision on the restrictions that will continue to be enforced to contain the coronavirus or lifted over the Christmas and New Year's holidays is expected at the end of the week, spokesman Stelios Petsas said on Tuesday.

Travellers who fly into Greece during the holiday season will have to enter a mandatory ten-day quarantine on arrival, as well as submit to a rapid antigen test at the airport and produce a negative PCR test, government spokesman Stelios Petsas announced on Monday, as the government struggled to contain the second wave of the pandemic.

Greece on Monday extended its lockdown measures in place to limit the spread of the coronavirus disease through January 7, including a night time curfew and a ban on traveling outside home prefectures.

Schools, restaurants, bars, courts and ski resorts will remain closed until that date, government spokesman Stelios Petsas said during a press conference.