Government spokesperson Stelios Petsas underlined during Thursday's press briefing that "this Easter will be different" and noted that this was what "the message of love that marks these Holy Days requires."
"In order to continue to be together, this year we will be far away," he added, and briefly repeated the measures in effect for the prevention of gatherings, in order to break the chain of contamination.
Petsas also urged the few people, who based on a survey, appear to be planning to visit relatives and friends on Easter Sunday, to not go ahead with their plans.
This was followed by Civil Protection Deputy Minister for Crisis Management Nikos Hardalias' announcement that the government has doubled fines and will remove the car plates for anyone who travels without reason for Greek Orthodox Easter.
The stricter controls will go into effect at 21:00 on Holy Saturday (April 18) to midnight on Easter Monday, throughout Greece, and will incur a fine of 300 euros, from 150 euros so far, and their car plates will be removed temporarily. The only exception is for people assisting others, but limited to the driver and one passenger.
"We cannot have the effort undertaken by the vast majority of the Greek people be undermined by few," Hardalias said.
At the daily press briefing, Health Ministry spokesperson and infectious diseases expert Professor Sotiris Tsiodras announced 15 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Greece in the last 24 hours, and 3 new deaths.
This bring the total number of Covid-19 infections in Greece to 2,207, of whom 569 were infected abroad and 921 in Greece.
Deaths total 105 since the start of the outbreak, of whom 29 were women. Of the 105, the majority had underlying health issues and their average age was over 70 years old.
Some 69 patients are being treated in Intensive Care Units (ICUs). The average age of these patients is 68 years.
It must be noted, Tsiodras added, that 33 patients have been discharged from ICUs in the last 24 hours.
