Press 6 for holiday gatherings, says government spokesman

Citizens who will choose to share their Christmas day or New Year’s lunch with family or friends should send an SMS with the number 6 to leave their home, government spokesman Stelios Petsas said on Tuesday, but warned against widening the social bubble during the festive season.

According to the lockdown rules introduced by the government in early November, people must send the toll-free 13033 hotline the number corresponding to one of six approved reasons to leave home. Number six corresponds to physical exercise or walking a pet.

“[During the holidays] We should see the people we more or less see anyway,” Petsas told television channel ANT1 on Tuesday.

He also stressed that the 10 p.m. curfew will continue to apply during the holidays, warning that “anyone who is out after 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve will be stopped by police.”

The only exception is made for people who will be working.

Petsas said authorities will intensify checks over the holiday season.