Lockdown possible if virus infections continue to rise, expert says

A new lockdown is a real possibility if new coronavirus infections continue to increase at the current rate, a professor of medicine at the University of Athens who sits on the expert committee advising the Greek government said on Thursday.

“Never say never with lockdowns. If necessary, it will be done, if the situation with the pandemic continues, especially in Attica, we will undoubtedly go into the lockdown,” Dr Nikos Sypsas told television channel ANT1 and pointed to the rising number of intubations.

“The next step, if the [current] measures do not work, is to restrict the movement of citizens,” he continued, noting that this restriction may be weekly.

Sypsas said the committee will monitor the situation over the next 10 days or two weeks to see if the current measures to stop the virus from spreading have worked.

“If the upward trend continues, we may resort to the extreme measure,” he added.

He also urged citizens to uphold the health and social distancing rules religiously. “This is no time to be relaxed. Things are getting serious.”