Greek authorities announced the implementation of restrictive measures for Heraklion, Crete, following a spike in the number of coronavirus infections on the island.
The measures which were announced on Monday by the Deputy Minister for Civil Protection & Crisis Management Nikos Hardalias, include the following:
- A ban on all public events including parties, religious festivals and street markets
- All public and private gatherings must be limited to no more than 9 people
- A maximum of 4 people can be seated per table at cafes or restaurants (or 6 people in the event that the people are first degree relatives)
- Face masks are mandatory in all public areas
The measures are in place until 6am Tuesday 15th September.
The restrictions resemble those already implemented in Chania (Crete), Halkidiki, Mykonos, Paros, Antiparos, Zakynthos and Lesvos.
Greece recorded 183 new cases of COVID-19 in the latest 24-hour reporting period.
This raises the total number of cases to 10,317.
2,089 are considered to be related to travel from abroad and 4,570 are related to an already known case.
Thirty-six individuals are in the ICU, and their median age is 69 years. 94.4% have an underlying condition or are aged 70 and above.
Another 153 have been discharged from ICUs since the start of the pandemic in Greece.
The country’s pandemic death toll stands at 266. The median age of all was 77 years and 95.9% of the deceased had an underlying condition.
Meanwhile, teams of health workers were dispatched to a home for unaccompanied refugee children in Athens.
According to the General Secretariat for Civil Protection, the outbreak at the shelter in the eastern suburb of Vyronas was detected on Monday after an individual presented symptoms of the novel virus.
By Monday night, 20 children and 8 workers at the facility had tested positive for the virus. Five others also tested negative.
The shelter has been put under strict quarantine and tracing has commenced.
