“When you see us together again, it will mean, things are very bad,” head of Greek Civil Protection Nikos Hardalias said at the last coronavirus live briefing end on May. Two months later, things seem to be “very bad” indeed and the Health Ministry announced an extraordinary live briefing with the country’s top epidemiologist, professor for Infectious Diseases, Sotitis Tsiodras.
The Tsiodras-Hardalias briefing is scheduled to go on air at 06:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 4. The government resumed a live coronavirus briefing with Hardalias once a week in July.
Tsiodras’ return on TV screens coincides with several media reports that he, as the head of the consulting committee at the Health Ministry, was at odds with the government’s recent handling of the pandemic.
New coronavirus infections have been on a constant rise since July 21, and new spikes in the last few days.
On Saturday, August 1, new cases jumped to 110 from 78 a day earlier, and were followed by 75 on Sunday and 77 on Monday. In these three days tests were positive at 1.14%, 1.26% and 2.20% respectively.
Citizens have relaxed and are crowding in bars and beach bars, at weddings and other social events, while infections among tourist are at two-digits on a daily basis.
It is still not known what exactly Tsiodras will tell Greeks this evening, but it is estimated that some 20% of the people were listening to him and complied with protection measures such as social distancing, beyond the fear of the fines.
Bringing back Tsiodras on the TV screens, the government apparently hopes that he will awaken Greeks and especially the young ones of the very serious consequences of Covid-19.
Many are waiting for Tsiodras to say whether we are in a second wave of the pandemic or in a big spread of the virus across the country, whether we are at risk of a new general lockdown and whether new stricter measures or local lockdowns are due.
According to daily ethnos, in collaboration with the scientific community, the Prime Minister’s office has decided to impose restrictions to the free passage of Greeks, expats or holders of Greek passport, through the border-crossings with Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Turkey.
Also under consideration are measures such as local lockdowns as well as restrict the time of operation of clubs and bars to not beyond midnight.
