Tourists walk past a man dressed as a Spartan warrior at the Hill of Acropolis in Athens, Greece, on Aug. 15, 2020. The Greek government announced on Friday more measures to contain the spread of coronavirus after a spike in COVID-19 cases from the beginning of August. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)
ATHENS, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Greek government announced on Friday more measures to contain the spread of coronavirus after a spike in COVID-19 cases from the beginning of August.
Nikos Hardalias, Deputy Minister for Civil Protection and Crisis Management at the Ministry of Citizen Protection, announced that the closure of bars, restaurants imposed in several regions and islands including Mykonos and Santorini last week, is extended to Attika region as well.
A 10-day curfew, along with the mandatory use of masks is imposed on the islands of Paros and Antiparos in the Cyclades in both indoor and outdoor areas.
The same curfew was imposed last week on the island of Poros, where businesses were ordered to shut down by midnight.
Public and private gatherings are limited to 50 people in areas with high infection rates.
The use of masks is mandatory in military camps, refugee facilities, and solidarity structures. While employees of vulnerable groups in public and private sectors will work from home until Aug. 31.
Hardalias recommended to travelers returning from their vacations to wear masks for seven days and maintain a safe distance from others.
The increase in cases in Greece is attributed to overcrowding in bars and clubs in popular tourist destinations and social events like weddings.
The country had initially handled the first outbreak of COVID-19 well, but the rise in case numbers has prompted Greek officials to take extra measures.
During an emergency videoconference earlier on the coronavirus situation in the country, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis urged the young people to be cautious due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases especially among their age groups.
"Please, I am issuing a plea: Be careful, take care of yourselves, you are not invulnerable, and especially those who are not invulnerable are your parents and grandparents," he said.
In the meantime, Greek health authorities announced 254 new confirmed COVID-19 cases within the past 24 hours, bringing the country's total to 6,632 infections since Feb. 26 when the first case was registered.
Two patients have died in the past few hours, raising the toll to 223. Currently, 22 patients are treated in intensive care units, while 136 have been discharged from ICUs. Enditem
