Explosion of infections likely to bring restrictions sooner, government says

The restrictions on entertainment and sports attendance planned for next year will likely come sooner, the Greek government spokesman said on Wednesday, as new infections skyrocketed in the country this week.

Giannis Oikonomou said the measures will be the ones already announced by the government, although there may be some “adjustments.”

The committee of experts advising the government on the pandemic is meeting on Wednesday to tweak its recommendations and government announcements will follow, Oikonomou said.

“I believe that the committee…will suggest bringing forward the measures that would come into force on Monday, possibly with some adjustments,” he told Skai television.

Just last monday, the government announced that entertainment venues will have to close by 12 midnight, while standing customers will not be allowed and a maximum of six people may share a table, as part of a series of measures to curb the quick spreado of the Omicron variant.

At the same time, half of employees in the public and public sectors will have to work from home and the public will have to use increased protection facemasks (KN95/FFP2) or double masks mandatory in supermarkets, public transport and for catering staff.

The measures were supposed to come into force from January 3-16 but with new infections smashing one record after another, the government has had to reconsider.