Greece has extended the mandatory use of mask to broader public and private facilities. The mask will be mandatory by both employees and the public. Head of Civil Protection, Nikos Hardalias, announced on Tuesday that the measure goes into effect as of Wednesday, July 29, 2020.
The facilities where employees and customers will have to wear masks are:
- all retail stores, utility companies, public services, banks, offices offering services to customers, supermarkets, grocery and food stores (butchers’, bakeries etc), hairdressers, beauty centers, doctor’s offices, hospitals, diagnostic centers, elevators, public transport means, taxi.
Authorities reintroduced the mandatory use of masks in supermarkets on July 18,2020..
In a post on social media, Hardalias published a list facilities where the mask is mandatory (left column/see above) or recommended (right column). Recommended is in churches, restaurants/cafes, stairs, open spaces.
Fine for not wearing a mandatory mask remains at 150 euros.
Churches are not currently on the list of enclosed spaces where masks are mandatory. Hardalias stressed that the overwhelming majority of churches observe the social distancing measures. He made clear, though, that the government is in contact with the Church of Greece and that if there is an issue, additional measures will be impose din churches, too.
Relaxation among citizens and relaxation of controls have led to a worrying increase in the number of coronavirus cases, Hardalias said during the live weekly briefing.
“The situation with the increase of domestic cases should not create panic, but we are not complacent,”. he stressed.
Epidemiological marker Rt is 0.4, he added.
According to official data, coronavirus cases increased to 4,227 (July 27) from 3,409 on the last day of June. Increased is reportedly also the hospitalization of Covid-19 patients. Death toll is at 202 (July 26). There is a spike of cases in urban centers like Attica and Thessaloniki. Epidemiologists have recommended the extension of the use of masks.
Regarding infections among tourists, the head of Civil Protection said that 171,000 Covid-19 tests have been conducted at the entrance points in the period July 1-26, 2020.
300 positive cases have been detected in a total of one million tourists, he stressed, adding that four Balkan countries are among five countries topping the list of the most detected cases.
Currently the active cases are 429, Hardalias said. 596 people are close contacts of the active cases in self-isolation.
66 active cases are in Thessaloniki, 145 in Attica.
Of the 145 active cases in Attica, 36 are hospitalized and 109 people in self-isolation. In Thessaloniki, of the 66 active cases, 8 are hospitalized and 58 in self-isolation.
“300 positive cases have been detected in a total of one million tourists” this is a ridiculous statement! He’s saying that 1 million tourists have been tested since opening the boarders? Does he really think people are that stupid!! Its outrageous that they still try to deny the connection between tourism and increase of daily infected.