Two More Areas in Greece Move to Covid-19 ‘Dark Red’ Alert

Greek Civil Protection Deputy Minister Nikos Hardalias on Friday announced that two more areas in Greece were moving to Covid-19 ‘dark red’ level (very high-risk) on the country’s Covid-19 risk-assessment map and therefore going into a stricter lockdown.

As of 6am, Saturday, March 6, the regional unit of Fokida (Central Greece) and the Municipality of Anogeia (Rethymno regional unit, Crete) will be placed under ‘dark red’ status due to an increase in coronavirus cases.

Residents in “dark red” areas are obliged to follow strict lockdown measures that include an evening/night curfew from 7 pm to 5am while all schools, retail stores and hairdressers are closed.

The deputy minister also warned that the ‘red’ areas of Kozani, Kastoria, Ioannina, Kavala, Imathia, Serres, Kilkis, Zakynthos, Chania and Rethymnon are in a critical state and slowly approaching ‘very high-risk’ (dark red) status.

He called for a strict adherence to health and safety measures in order to avoid more restrictions.

Moreover, the deputy minister announced that wedding ceremonies are no longer restricted in Greece. Both political and religious weddings are allowed to take place but only in the presence of nine guests.

Papaevaggelou: Covid-19 spreads in all areas of Attica

On her part, Vana Papaevaggelou, infectious diseases specialist and member of the Covid-19 health committee, expressed concern about the spread of the coronavirus in all areas of Attica. She also stressed that cases were increasing in all regional units of the country. Thessaloniki in particular has recorded a sharp rise of 37 percent and currently has 2,000 active cases.

“A reduction of the epidemiological burden will allow us to open some activities/services in the coming weeks, something we all anticipate,” she said.

Commenting on the subject, Hardalias said: “If we can strictly observe the measures, we will be able to improve our epidemiological indicators”.

The deputy minister stressed that if unnecessary movement is avoided over the next few days and the epidemiological indicators improve, opening some services and activities in Greece will be a priority.

It is reminded that Greek authorities have tightened rules for individuals leaving home under the SMS system for outside movement. The new rules will be in force until March 16.

For further information (in Greek) on the restrictive measures in ‘red’ and ‘dark red’ areas, press here. The map is updated every week.

Greek health authorities on Friday announced 2,215 new coronavirus cases – 1,057 found in Athens-Attica alone – and 32 deaths. Since the start of the pandemic, the total number of cases in the country has reached 201,677. The Covid-19 death toll in Greece is 6,664.