Disinfection drive stepped up in quiet capital

Employees of Athens City Hall’s sanitation department Monday disinfected Syntagma Square, including its marble steps and benches. Workers use special machines dispensing jets of boiling water (well above the 56 Celsius temperatures that kill the coronavirus) to clean trash bins, sidewalks and other surfaces. The drive has focused on squares and pedestrianized areas as well as hospital, pharmacy and supermarket entrances, taking advantage of the relatively empty streets in August. “We are intensifying our disinfection operations across the whole city from now, before it returns to its autumn pace,” Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis said, adding that the aim was “for Athens’ public places to be safe for all.” [ANA-MPA]