British tourists hold illegal 'corona parties' in Zakynthos

British tourists are holding illegal 'corona parties' in Zakynthos and flouting the rules— not social distancing and not wearing a face mask.

Footage circulating on social media under #Zante2020, shows partygoers raving about making it to the island despite the novel virus and partying on beaches when pubs and bars closed.

Laganas deputy mayor Charalambos Varvarigos labelled it as 'mayhem' and has requested more police officers from Greece to cope with the crowds.

A club worker told the Sun,"Most bars and clubs have respected the rules. These idiots have spoilt it for everyone."

'There are illegal beach parties organised every night called ''F*** Covid-19 Parties. Lots of people are very upset about what these clowns have done, and lots of people will now be catching Covid, the anonymous source added.

The island has since cracked down on visitors. Boat parties are now banned, gatherings of more than nine people (indoors and outdoors) have been banned and masks must be worn in public spaces.

Scotland has also included Greece on its quarantine list, though in Wales the restriction only applies to the six Greek islands of Mykonos, Zakynthos, Lesvos, Paros, Antiparos and Crete.

Meanwhile according to the 13th progress report on Covid-19, "the high number of Covid-19 cases continues to be the result of laxity in observing social distancing rules."

As it is noted "the stabilisation is probably the result of measures for the use of face masks and to the greater restrictions applied in areas with many cases. However, the conditions continue to demand heightened vigilance, because the epidemic will possibly show an upward trend in the future."

The report, which provides details on the cases, tests and population movements, underlined that the extensive spread of the virus among younger people is worrying and that it is revealed by the higher percentage of cases aged under 40, as well as the large number of relatively younger patients that have been intubated, which has lowered the average age of those intubated due to Covid-19.

While the majority of new cases detected had mild or no symptoms, the burden placed on the health system was higher than in the previous report, with ICUs and high dependency units at 23% capacity.

The number of those treated in ICUs each day has increased from 31 to 38 and the average number of deaths to four.

The highest number of cases are located in the region of Attica and the rest are spread throughout Greece.

According to the available international data, Greece continues to be in a comparatively better shape as regards the number of deaths from COVID-19, where it ranks 111th worldwide with just 26 death per million citizens when the international average is 113.7 deaths per million citizens.