Greece’s ruling New Democracy, fearing an Easter exodus out of cities could overturn the benefits of lockdown that helped prevent the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus, said it will appeal to citizens to stay home instead of all-out enforcement.
Government spokesman Stelios Petsas said the country is not a police state and that along with fines doubled to 300 euros ($327.97) for lockdown violators trying to reach islands and villages if they aren’t permanent residents there that the plan is to also use the “power of persuasion.”
That hasn’t fully worked so far, with more than 30,000 violations of the lockdown since it was imposed on March 23 and required people to stay home except for allowed missions such as going to supermarkets, banks, pharmacies, doctors, and hospitals.
It also has failed to keep people from going to the beach or walk along waterfront promenades and with worries, the combination of Easter and warmer spring weather will make people pent-up for weeks pour out.
“The citizen understands that this is an unprecedented situation, something we have never experienced before. Everyone understands that we are living in a completely different framework right now. We will not be doing what we do every other year this year,” Petsas said on Open TV.
“We won’t be going to our churches, unfortunately, but it is not our faith that is being tested. What is being tested is our personal sense of responsibility and our collective maturity,” he said, the government anxious people would get out even though churches will be closed and no public services allowed.
Without being able to reach islands or villages, residents are also supposed to stay in their own neighborhoods even with permission on forms downloaded from the Internet, on their phones or handwritten in their possession.
“Visits to friends, neighbors or relatives are not foreseen,” said Petsas, who added that people must understand the lockdown could be undone by mass violations that could lead to further infections as they were falling.
He appealed to them to realize otherwise, “What has taken so much effort over the past few weeks to gain so that we may be in a position at the end of April to come up with a plan for a gradual and slow return to normalcy,” will be undercut.
Read more at thenationalherald.com
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