PM confirms stricter lockdown will be imposed if necessary

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday confirmed comments earlier by spokesman Stelios Petsas that the government is prepared to impose stricter measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus if necessary.

“If and when we deem that we need to intervene and make the framework even stricter, we will,” Mistotakis told a teleconference of government, regional and local officials.

“Even though we are doing better than other countries, it would be inexcusable if we upset the milk jug now. This means that the restrictions we have already implemented need to be applied diligently,” he told Interior Minister Takis Theodorikakos, the head of the Union of Regional Authorities, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, and the head of the Union of Municipalities, Dimitris Papastergiou.

The teleconference was called to discuss progress with the Help at Home program, a community initiative run by local authorities to provide assistance to citizens in need. The program has been expanded since the start of the coronavirus epidemic to provide elderly people living alone or others who are unable to leave their home with basic supplies like groceries and medicines, among others.

“This is the time to make a real social mark, to prove that we have to face this crisis united. No one is being left behind and people who have to stay at home will have support they need at the municipal level,” Mitsotakis said.