New president to be sworn in on Friday in pared down ceremony

Greece's president-elect, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, is to be sworn in on Friday in a simplified ceremony in Parliament, with few officials present, to avoid the spread of the new coronavirus.

Instead of the usual 1,000 people that traditionally attend the event, just 150 people will be present in the plenary on Friday, with political parties represented only by the heads of their parliamentary group.

Authorities have also limited the number of journalists and photographers who will cover the ceremony.

Sakellaropoulou will be welcomed by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Parliament president Konstantinos Tasoulas at the main entrance of the building at 11 a.m.

Sakellaropoulou, who will be the first female president, takes over her new role from incumbent Prokopis Pavlopoulos.

The Greek Parliament has separately announced several measures, similar to those adopted in the European Parliament, to limit the duration of both committee and plenary sessions to avoid the long presence of many MPs in closed chambers at the same time.