Athens, Feb 10 : Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Tuesday a full Covid-19 lockdown for the Attica region, where half of Greece’s population lives, in order to stem the further spread of the novel coronavirus.
All schools in the region will be closed, students will return to online learning, and all stores will also shut down, with the exception of supermarkets, pharmacies, bakeries and gas stations, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Greece has been in a nationwide lockdown since November 7, 2020, which has been extended several times. Additional restrictions have been imposed on areas with a heavy epidemiological load.
However, new infections and hospital admissions have spiked in recent days, and the alarming spread of more contagious Covid-19 variants has forced the authorities to act to ease pressure on the health system, he explained.
“Our aim is to always be as step ahead of the virus,” Mitsotakis said on Greek national broadcaster ERT.
“As long as the crisis continues, the state will continue to support households and businesses,” he said.
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