Greece imposes more regional lockdowns as Covid-19 cases rise

Greece announced today it will impose further regional lockdowns to curb the coronavirus resurgence.

The country’s second largest city of Thessaloniki along with the city of Larissa and the Rhodope region will enter lockdown starting Friday at 6 a.m. local time. These brings the total regional lockdowns to seven.

“The average age of the new infections as well as the daily contact tracing shows that cases are connected to mass social gatherings, entertainment gatherings and sports activities,” said Deputy Civil Protection Minister Nikos Hardalias.

More context: Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to announce stricter measures Friday that would last one month. 

He said his aim remains to avoid a national lockdown and instead will focus on the intensification of the containment measures. Greek media outlets have reported that a stricter curfew could be announced.  

According to Greece’s National Public Health Organization, Greece has recorded 35,510 coronavirus cases and 615 deaths from the disease in total.