First weekday of lockdown sees busy streets in Athens

Streets in many parts of Athens were much busier on the first weekday of the new lockdown on Monday compared to the spring, the Traffic Police said, adding that 70% of motorists who were stopped and questioned as to why they were circulating claimed to be going to work and the remaining 30% were carrying out errands for someone in need of help.

“Traffic was indeed much heavier than it was during the spring lockdown, but that said, teleworking has not gained ground and elementary schools are still open. This is why the phenomenon eased after people got to work and school had started,” a Hellenic Police (ELAS) official told Kathimerini on Monday, saying that traffic was markedly reduced after 9.30 a.m. compared to earlier in the day.

Around 35 Traffic Police teams dispatched to key points in the and around the Greek capital recorded more than 100 violations of current restrictions on the movement of motorists. Checks for violations concerning the mandatory use of masks in public, meanwhile, led to 248 fines being issued. The fine for such violations has been raised from 150 euros in spring to 300 euros today.

“We don’t like having to write up citizens, especially now that the fine has been doubled. However, we cannot tolerate a small proportion of people who do not abide by the rules being responsible for spreading the virus,” an officer at ELAS’ emergency dispatch said.

Dozens of violations were also reported on Sunday, with ELAS saying that more than 58,000 checks yielded 848 violations of restrictions on movement, of which 297 were in Attica and 72 in the northern port city of Thessaloniki.

More than 740 fines of 300 euros were also issued for mask-related violations.