Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis appealed to the public to wear masks and comply with regulations so that stricter coronavirus measures can be averted.
The question, the PM said, is "self-protection or quarantine" and reminded the public of the effectiveness of social distancing, personal hygiene and the wearing of masks, which latter he called "the vaccination before the vaccine".
These measures have proven successful through a trial-and-error process, and keeping them will minimise infection by accident or lax habits, he stressed in the televised address.
“The weeks ahead will likely determine the months and maybe even years to come, so we need to stay a step ahead of the coronavirus rather than behind it,” the PM added.
“Managing the pandemic is not a pendulum that swings from total lockdown to total complacency."
Greece recorded 342 new cases of COVID-19 in the latest 24-hour reporting period, the largest daily spike since the first case was registered in the country in late February.
This raises the total number of cases to 16,627.
2,726 are considered to be related to travel from abroad and 6,915 are related to an already known case.
Sixty-eight individuals are in ICU. Their median age is 68 years, and 21 of them are women. 86.8% have an underlying condition or are aged 70 years and above.
A total of 192 patients have been discharged from ICUs since the start of the pandemic in Greece.
The country’s pandemic death toll stands at 366. The median age of all was 78 years and 97% of the deceased had an underlying condition and/or age of 70 years or more.
It is recalled new COVID-19 regulations were announced for Athens and Attica. Furthermore, Deputy Civil Protection Minister Nikos Hardalias announced the suspension of all outdoor theatrical performances as of Thursday, September 24.
Meanwhile, a new Intensive Care wing at the pulmonary hospital "Sotiria", a gift of the parliament of Greece at its final construction stage was visited by Infrastructure & Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis and Parliament President Kostas Tassoulas on Thursday.
The 50-bed ICU will be the largest one of Greece and is being built by the state construction company KtYp (Ktiriakes Ypodomes SA), whose president and CEO accompanied the two officials.