Greece to remain in lockdown to 'save Christmas’

Greece's second lockdown is expected to continue into December.

During an interview with ANT1, Government spokesperson Stelios Petsas pointed out that a more relaxed attitude that existed during the first week of the second lockdown had pushed back the government's initial plan.

"Therefore, it is not realistic to reopen on December 1, according to the data that the experts analyse every day and then advise us. The epidemiological burden is still high at the moment, so it does not seem realistic to open everything on December 1," he said.

Lockdown measures would gradually be lifted, "first with those activities that have a lower epidemiological burden, such as schools for example, followed by the retail sector and, gradually, other sectors," he added.

Petsas also underlined that as long as the lockdown continues, residents must follow the measures to reduce the epidemiological burden. "We have to do what we all know well, listen to the experts, limit our movements, keep our distance where possible."

Furthermore, infectious disease pathologist Charalambos Gogos said efforts were being made by health authorities and the government to ‘save Christmas in the midst of the pandemic’.

“At the moment, the curve of the epidemic seems to have flattened. The Rt (virus reproduction rate) is at 1, and the positive rate of laboratory tests is close to 10-12%,” he said during an interview on SKAI, adding that "this week is crucial."

“We will wait to see a stabilization of epidemiological indicators, and we hope that next week there will be a drop in the epidemic curve."

Latest covid-19 numbers in Greece

Greece recorded 2,135 new cases of COVID-19 in the latest 24-hour reporting period.

This raises the total number of cases to 95,137.

4,840 are considered to be related to travel from abroad and 24,679 are related to an already known case.

Five hundred and sixty-two individuals are in ICU. Their median age is 65 years, and 161 of them are women. 82% have an underlying condition or are aged 70 years and above.

A total of 482 patients have been discharged from ICUs since the start of the pandemic in Greece.

The country’s pandemic death toll stands at 1,815. The median age of all was 80 years and 97.1% of the deceased had an underlying condition and/or age of 70 years or more.