Greece Announces Further Steps to Curb Spread of Coronavirus

Greece announced two new measures aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus on Monday, including mandatory mask wearing for everyone on passenger ship decks and the banning of re-enry into the country for workers who have left Greece.
The workers will not be allowed to re-enter Greece again until August 18.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had a teleconference with Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias, Deputy Minister for Citizen Protection Nikos Hardalias and Epidemiologist Sotiris Tsiodras to assess the situation after the gradual increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the past two weeks.
After the teleconference, government spokesperson Stelios Petsas briefed the press on the issues discussed and conclusions drawn during the online meeting between the officials.
Petsas noted that “Greece has a better epidemiological picture than most European countries and managed to control the imported incidents from tourists with a series of measures at the country’s entry points.”
“Complacency is still the enemy, as well as phenomena of relaxation of self- protection measures that feed the virus. Complacency has led to the increase of cases in many Greek regions, but mostly in urban areas. However, this increase has not put significant pressure on the health system so far,” the spokesman said.
Petsas warned that crowding in social events  — such as weddings, bars, clubs — along with mass transport, are potentially dangerous situations in the spreading of the coronavirus.
The spokesman said that the current measures are continually assessed on a daily basis and additional steps will be taken if the need arises. He also urged citizens to take all the usual common-sense precautionary measures against the spread of the coronavirus that have been put in place.
Asked about the burden on Greece’s health system caused by the pandemic, Petsas said that there is currently no great pressure on the medical facilities in the country.
Expanding on this point, he noted that “the number of patients in ICUs was thirteen yesterday, August 2, compared to eleven on July 2; seventeen on June 2; forty-four on May 2 and eighty-one on April 2, 2020.”