Coronavirus deaths exceed 1,000

Deaths from the coronavirus have topped 1,000 in Greece, health authorities announced Saturday.

There were 2835 new cases, along with 38 deaths. The number of confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic is 72,510, with 1,035 deaths. Over half the fatalities have occurred since October 18, authorities said.

The government has decided to shut down elementary schools, kindergartens and day care centers starting Monday, for a period of two weeks. Children will be schooled at home, as is already happening with high school and university students.

Authorities have stepped up controls and enforcement of a 9 pm – 5 am curfew, including by making arrests.

Two foreign university students on the Erasmus exchange program who hosted an after-hours party at their apartment in the northern city of Thessaloniki were given suspended sentences of 2 years and two months Saturday.

The students, a 24-year-old Palestinian man and a 21-year-old Frenchwoman were arrested at 10.30 p.m. Friday and fined 3,000 euros ($3,550) each on the spot. The 15 other persons attending the party, all students from western European countries, were fined 300 euros ($355) each but were not arrested.

[AP]