Gov’t ponders more measures to curb virus

The tougher enforcement of health safety rules was the focus of a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday amid fears that public compliance has eased. 

Health authorities on Wednesday reported 27 new coronavirus infections, four of which were detected at the country’s borders, bringing the nationwide total to 3,910, while the death toll remained unchanged at 193.

Although the cases displayed a dip after Tuesday’s 58 infections, authorities are keen to ensure the general upward trend is contained. 

Mitsotakis said a priority was to protect the health of workers, particularly in busy tourist areas, and to ward against overcrowding. He also stressed the need for local authorities to enforce restrictions. 

Meanwhile epidemiologists are mulling the reintroduction of certain measures, such as the obligatory use of face masks in shopping malls, as authorities conducted hundreds of inspections nationwide on Monday and Tuesday to ensure compliance with health regulations.

Officials and police checked 569 businesses – including beach bars, cafes, restaurants and department stores – and recorded 51 transgressions. Officers imposed a total of 13,350 euros in fines and two of the businesses were ordered to close for 15 days. 

Several islands including Corfu, Zakynthos, Rhodes and Crete, meanwhile, welcomed the first direct flights from the UK following the lifting of a ban on Wednesday.

British tourists are to undergo diagnostic tests, the results of which will determine whether or not direct flights from the UK will continue to be permitted.

Authorities have also intensified inspections at Greece’s land border with Bulgaria, following a spike in positive cases from Balkan countries, with visitors obliged to present a negative test to be granted passage.