Update – 24/08/2020

As of the latest update by the Greek authorities yesterday, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 diagnosed cases in Greece is 8,664. The country recorded the highest number of Covid-19 cases on Sunday with 284 new infections. Two fatalities were announced, raising the total number to 242. The average age of people getting sick from the virus is 39, while the average age of people dying of the disease is 77. The number of patients treated in intensive care units stands at 31, while 143 patients have exited the intensive care unit.

Regarding the cases reported yesterday:

• 17 were detected during the tests carried out at Greece’s entry points
• 2 are imported cases, which requested testing voluntarily
• 141 cases were detected in Attica region, 26 of which are related to recent travel within the country and 15 are related to known confluence
• 11 cases were detected in Thessaloniki region, 4 of which are related to recent travel within the country
• 5 cases were detected in Achaia
• 2 cases were detected in Grevena
• 2 cases were detected in Drama
• 6 cases were detected in Dodecanese
• 7 cases were detected in Evros, 6 of which are related to known confluence
• 1 case was detected in Zakynthos
• 1 case was detected in Ilia
• 3 cases were detected in Imathia
• 2 cases were detected in Heraklion
• 1 case was detected in Ioannina
• 2 cases were detected in Kavala
• 5 cases were detected in Karditsa, 1 of which is related to recent travel within the country and 1 to known confluence
• 2 cases were detected in Kastoria
• 2 cases were detected in Kozani
• 20 cases were detected in Cyclades, 8 of which are related to known confluence
• 8 cases were detected in Larissa, 3 of which are related to recent travel within the country
• 12 cases were detected in Lesvos, 10 of which are related to confirmed case
• 3 cases were detected in Magnesia
• 1 case was detected in Pella
• 3 cases were detected in Pieria
• 1 case was detected in Preveza
• 1 case was detected in Serres
• 2 cases were detected in Trikala
• 4 cases were detected in Chania
• 1 case was detected in Phocis
• 2 cases were detected in Chios
• 14 cases are under investigation

EDUCATION

• Amid concerns by epidemiologists about a second wave of the pandemic, authorities are on standby to impose new restrictions if necessary with the upcoming reopening of schools a key concern. The Education Ministry is on Monday expected to specify the measures to apply when Greek schools reopen on September 7 to ensure that they are as protected as possible from the spread of Covid-19.

• The committee of infectious disease experts advising the government finalized its proposals last week and the ministry has been adapting them to the school environment. It remains to be seen what this involves. Interior Minister Takis Theodorikakos said last week that the state will provide local authorities with adequate face masks to equip all schools. He added that 9,500 additional cleaners would be hired as sanitation is a greater priority.

• Education Minister Niki Kerameus has already made it clear that parents and children will be given leaflets with instructions on the proper use of face masks. Kerameus has also said that the first lesson in schools will be about the coronavirus and the measures necessary to combat its spread. In the event of an outbreak in school, the plan is for the department in question to be closed, not the entire school, and for lessons to revert to distance learning as was the case during the lockdown.

• As regards universities, and the usual September exam period, Kerameus has said it will be at the discretion of individual universities to decide whether the exams should be conducted on site or online as was the case with the summer’s university entrance tests. 

MEASURES/RESTRICTIONS

• New restrictive measures to halt the rise in coronavirus infections on the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos came into effect today, following the relevant announcements on Sunday evening by the Civil Protection Deputy Minister Nikos Hardalias. These measures include closing cafes, restaurants, bars and clubs nightclubs at midnight and allowing a maximum of 50 persons per social, religious and any kind of events. For the businesses that are affected, the Finance Ministry is allowing them to suspend work contracts. The new rules will apply until September 1.

• Greek health authorities on Friday also announced emergency restrictions for the regions of Karditsa, in central Greece, and Pieria and Pella, in northern Greece, following localized spikes in coronavirus infections there. The measures resemble those imposed on other parts of the country with similar spikes such as Attica, Macedonia and Thrace, Thessaloniki, Larissa, and the islands of Crete, Santorini, Rhodes, Zakynthos and Kos.  They include a ban on the operation of bars, clubs and restaurants between midnight and 7 a.m., a limit of 50 people on all public gatherings with the exception of theaters, cinemas and other venues where health protocols are in place. The measures went into effect at 6 a.m. on Saturday and will apply until 6 a.m. on Tuesday September 1.

• The Hellenic Police (ELAS) has stepped up checks on compliance by individuals and businesses with restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus. On Friday, officers carried out 59,882 inspections, recording 560 instances of individuals not wearing face masks or not observing physical distancing in public places. Another 27 violations were recorded by businesses that failed to ensure health protocols were being observed on their premises or defied a midnight curfew. In six cases – three on Crete, two in Central Macedonia and one in Attica – officers imposed 10,000-euro fines on businesses operating beyond the midnight curfew introduced in those areas.

• Four more residents of the Estia Papageorgiou nursing home in Thessaloniki were found to be positive to the novel coronavirus on Friday, allowing a second round of testing. The patients have already been transferred to a hospital because they developed low fever and mild symptoms.

• Thessaloniki’s AHEPA hospital reopened on Saturday following a four-day closure for disinfection purposes after 14 medical and nursing staff tested positive for the coronavirus. The AHEPA is now being staffed by employees from other hospitals as its 14 staff members who contracted the virus are in quarantine at their homes. Hospitals around the country are routinely testing all staff returning from vacations to ensure that any carriers of Covid-19 are not exposed to other employees and patients.
  
• When Greece receives the Covid-19 vaccine, all Greeks will be able to be inoculated for free, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Friday, adding that pupils and teachers will also get free masks when schools reopen next week.

GOVERNMENTAL SUPPORT

• Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will announce measures to support citizens who have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic on September 12-13 when he will be in Thessaloniki, government spokesman Stelios Petsas said on Saturday. Petsas told Skai TV one of the measures being considered is the reduction of social security contributions and the property tax ENFIA. The government also intends to abolish the solidarity levy faster than originally planned.

• Share: