The Albanian government will start to ease some of the lockdown restrictive measures starting from Monday, April 13.
Prime Minister Edi Rama announced that grocery shops, pharmacies and banks will be open from 05:00 to 17:30, instead of 13:00.
A total lockdown is still in place for Sunday, but Rama clarified in his latest post that from Monday on people will be able to get a permit to do shopping for 90 minutes, 30 minutes more than before.
The “first phase” of the lockdown is expected to finish in the end of May, he said, when many activities could cautiously turn to “the new normal state” and many could go back to work. Yesterday, Rama stated that the complete lifting of lockdown restrictions in Albania could take up to 10 months.
Rama warned that, although the number of those infected is lower than the government’s “most optimistic expectations, due to strong restrictive measures we took at the right time and the amazing resilience of the people in unity with the government”, still the coming 40 days of resilience are decisive, while restrictions will be eased gradually.
Harsh penalties and sentences proposed by the government will pass in parliament next week. According to changes proposed, violators of quarantine will face up to 15 years in prison, one of the harshest sentences in any country worldwide.
People won’t be allowed to drive to work starting from Monday, as hinted earlier, but a decision will be taken during the week.
