Crisis management chief expected to announce regional lockdowns

Fears that the holiday spirit will prove stronger than fears of the coronavirus are expected to prompt the announcement of hard regional lockdowns in parts of the country that are struggling to contain the second wave of the pandemic.

Deputy Civil Protection Minister Nikos Hardalias is in Thessaloniki on Thursday, where he is scheduled to hold an emergency press conference at 6 p.m. announcing new measures. These are expected to include tighter restrictions for the port city, as well as for other parts of northern Greece where hospitals are struggling to cope with the constant influx of new Covid-19 patients and hundreds of critical cases.

These regions include Kozani, where Citizens’ Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis earlier met with local government and health officials.

“We are here [in northern Greece] because we are very worried, because the phenomenon is acquiring endemic characteristics,” he told the press during his visit to the city.

“The coronavirus is persistent and we are here because we are determined to pull the brake on the pandemic,” he added.

A total of 11 geographical units are in the red, according to the Health Ministry’s map of new and active cases, and may be subjected to stricter restrictions over the holidays. These also include West Attica.