Update – 29/07/2020

As of the latest update by the Greek authorities yesterday, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 diagnosed cases in Greece is 4,279. Seven out of the 52 new cases announced were imported infections detected at the country’s entry points, the National Organization of Public Health (EODY) said in its daily report. One more patient died from Covid-19 raising the total number to 203. The median age of the patients who died was 76 years. The number of patients treated in intensive care units stands at 8, whose median age is 58, while 127 patients have left the intensive care unit.

MEASURES/RESTRICTIONS

• As the number of coronavirus cases continues to go up in Greece, and particularly in Attica, the government has decided that the use of masks will be mandatory as of Wednesday for everyone – employees and the public – in retail stores, food stores (bakeries, butchers, etc.), hairdressers and beauty salons, state-run companies, banks and public service offices. Masks are already mandatory on public transport, in taxis and supermarkets, and for employees in bars, cafes and restaurants. The extended use of masks will be accompanied by an intensification of controls.

• The new measures were announced on Tuesday by Deputy Minister for Civil Protection Nikos Hardalias, who strongly recommended the use of masks even in crowded open spaces. Regarding the possible extension of the ban on village festivals, or “panigyria,” beyond July 31, Hardalias noted that this will be determined at the end of the week, depending on the epidemiological data. He clarified that “at this very moment, we are far from any local lockdown.” He also insisted that despite the increase in cases, “the epidemiological picture of Greece is better than other European countries,” adding that the rate of transmission, or Rt, is 0.4 when the ceiling for the control of the epidemic is 1. He warned, however, that “this should not lead to complacency.”
  
  
• Authorities will step up checks to ensure the enforcement of the government’s directions and guidelines regarding preventive and safety measures to combat the spread of coronavirus on the Greek islands. The announcement was made by Citizens’ Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis during a visit to the Aegean island of Mykonos, a popular tourist destination, amid a spike in Covid-19 cases across Greece. Chrysochoidis said police plan to go after private parties that increase exposure to the virus. To combat large house parties, social gatherings in residences will be limited to 40 people, he said.

TOURISM

• In a letter to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and three leading companies in the sector – MSC Cruises, Costa, TUI Cruises – Minister Harry Theoharis confirmed that cruise ships will be welcome to the ports of Piraeus, Rhodes, Heraklion, Volos, Corfu and Katakolo, from August 1. According to the minister, after their first mooring at one of the six Greek ports, cruise ships will be able to approach any other port in the country included in their route. The minister clarified that if new epidemiological conditions, regarding the coronavirus, occur then the regime will change. Moreover, the minister said that Greece is the first country that has responded to the cruise industry and has introduced official health protocols.

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