The Cabinet decided on Wednesday to suspend the requirement for people to present COVID certificates in order to access shops, cafes or events as of February 5.
However, indoor shops and markets will have to ensure at least 15 square meters of floor space per visitor or serve only one customer at a time. Shoppers will have to wear facemasks, keep a distance of at least two meters and disinfect their hands.
Ruta Vainiene, director of the Lithuanian Association of Trade Companies, notes that many shops, especially smaller ones that are not required to check COVID certificates, are already regulating shopper flows.
"They are doing so according to their means and capabilities," Vainiene said.
"Most retailers will regulate flows by (limiting the number of available) shopping baskets and trolleys. Some have digital systems that scan people going out and those coming in and count them. Others monitor the flows via video cameras," she said.
The association's director believes that queues are unlikely to form outside shops, except at smaller ones.
"There should be no queues. One may have to wait for a few minutes outside a smaller shop during rush hour," Vainiene said.
"For smaller shops, the required minimum space per customer has more than halved. Moreover, flows will be more evenly distributed, because more people will be able to access bigger stores," she added.