Minister urges Patras locals to celebrate patron saint at home on Monday
Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrisohoidis called on the people of Patras to celebrate the city’s patron saint at home on Monday and avoid social gatherings that could spread the coronavirus.
Authorities are concerned that the upcoming Feast of Agios Andreas on Monday could serve as a super spreader event if people ignore the restrictions on movement and gatherings. A similar event in Thessaloniki, when the city celebrated its own patron saint Agios Dimitrios on October 26, is believed to have sparked an outbreak.
“Patras will honor its patron saint with the same reverence, but each in one’s own house. No visits, no socializing,” the minister said after a meeting with local officials and the local metropolitan bishop in the city on Saturday. “Every Achaean has a duty to protect oneself and protect others.”
“We need 100% compliance, agreement, solidarity. Not 99.9 percent but 100. Because even one, or two or a few can infect many others, [can] send to the ICU a number [of patients] that [the ICU’s] they cannot handle,” he added.
Small regional units such as Achaea, Drama, Pieria and Kavala are showing an increase in infection rates and intubations.
