Covid-19 Restrictions Imposed in Pella, Pieria, Imathia and Kilkis

Pieria. Photo © K. Kouzouni

Greece’s General Secretariat for Civil Protection on Thursday announced emergency measures in the regional units of Pella, Pieria, Imathia and Kilkis in Central Macedonia, aimed at curbing the further spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19).

The measures were announced taking into account the latest epidemiological data of the four areas as 70 confirmed Covid-19 cases were found in Pella, 15 in Pieria, 8 in Imathia and 2 in Kilkis. The vast majority of cases are connected to food processing plants.

The emergency measures will run for a period of 14 days as of 6am on Friday, September 11 until 6am on Friday, September 25.

The measures for the four destinations include:

– the mandatory use of masks both outdoors and indoors.
– the closing of all restaurants and bars from midnight until 7 am.
– a ban on all events including parties, outdoor festivals, religious processions and open-air markets (laiki).
– the prohibition of all forms of public gatherings of more than nine people in public or private spaces
– a limit of four people at restaurant or café tables (six people are allowed if they are family members) .

According to the General Secretariat for Civil Protection, Greek authorities will be implementing extra inspections in the four areas to ascertain that measures are being followed.

In addition, Greek Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias has given an order for the hospitals in the four areas to be on increased alert. Greece’s National Organization for Public Health (EODY) has also received instructions to increase Covid-19 testing in the Region of Central Macedonia.

In total, on Thursday, Greek health authorities announced a record of 372 new coronavirus cases, the highest amount in one day since the start of the pandemic. Since the start of the pandemic, the country has recorded a total of 12,452 Covid-19 infections and 297 deaths.