Hardly were the new restrictions against the spread of coronavirus decided and imposed and Greek Police was sent out the country on Saturday to check if the measures are observed.
Police teams registered a total of 333 violations and fined the violators with the relevant fines.
The majority of violations, a total of 311 cases, concerned the not use of mask and failure to keep the imposed social distancing.
Each violator had to pay 150 euros.
88 of these violations were observed in Attica, 41 in Thessaloniki, 27 in Crete, 21 in the Ionian islands and 8 in the north Aegean islands, with fewer cases recorded throughout the country.
Another 21 fines were issued to shops and private companies for overcrowding.
The fine of 500 euros was imposed to a flight passenger who arrived in the country without having completed the electronic Passenger Locator Form (PLF). And this is odd, because the airlines are responsible for allowing passengers on board without having filled up to PLF.
The Government seems determined to have all citizens follow the new restrictions and rules. We have seen these zealous controls and fines also in the past during the lockdown.
Once the lockdown was lifted, both the government and a part of the society forgot the virus. Until it reminded them with a surge of new cases.
It is the public who “forgot”, not the government. The government are walking a tightrope between controlling the virus and trying to stimulate the economy into some form of growth. If the economy collapses completely the outcome will be far worse than that of the virus. Governments around the world have this problem but it is always them that get criticism, never “the people”.