Covid curfew for Thessaloniki
The authorities will impose a night-time curfew and ban music at bars, cafés and restaurants in Thessaloniki, Greece’s second biggest city, following an increase in Covid-19 cases, the government said on Thursday.
Infections have stabilized across the country but cases have surged in northern Greece.
The civil protection ministry said Thessaloniki city and its wider region and the neighbouring regional units of Halkidiki and Kilkis, along with the central city of Larissa, will be moved into tier 4 restrictions for a week on October 1.
The areas will now join Drama, Imathia, Kastoria, Kavala, Pella, Pieria and Xanthi – all in northern Greece –where the Civil Protection authority has extended existing restrictions for at least another week.
The restrictions in the newly declared areas will go into effect at 6 a.m. on Friday and will be reviewed on October 6 depending on the course of coronavirus cases.
All movement in the curfewed areas will be banned between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. except for medical emergencies and work, while music is not allowed at clubs, bars and cafés to prevent overcrowding.
Parties and other gatherings of more than 20 people are also forbidden, both in private and public setting, with the fines for violating this restriction ranging from 50,000 to 200,000 euros.
The country reported 2,232 new infections and 33 related deaths on Thursday, bringing the total number of infections since the pandemic began to 655,767 and the death toll to 14,828.
About 58% of Greeks are fully vaccinated.
The government hopes to increase that to up to 70% in an attempt to build wide immunity against the virus.
[Reuters/Ekathimerini]
