The Regional Government in Attica has ordered random COVID-19 tests to passengers arriving from the islands at the ports of Piraeus and Rafina. The tests will be conducted on Sunday, August 16, 2020, when thousands of Greek holidaymakers will end their summer vacations.
Governor of Attica, Giorgos Patoulis, former president of the Greek Medical Association, said in a statement “We will guard the public health at the entrances of the Region to reduce the spread of infections by returning holidaymakers.”
He urged “citizens of all ages to be vigilant and take care of the protection of the society as a whole when they return to the urban centers of Attica.”
Attica and Thessaloniki, in northern Greece, are top in coronavirus cases in August. Professor for Infectious Diseases Sotiris Tsiodras said that the majority of infections in Attica are due to vacations on Cyclades islands, and in Thessaloniki due to Halkidiki.
At the peak of summer vacations on the 15. August holiday, hundreds of Greeks are leaving the Greek capital Athens via the ports of Piraeus and Rafina for nearby islands for even a short weekend away.
With the risk of the spread of the coronavirus lurking due to crowding authorities apparently hope through the random testing.
The coronavirus tests will be carried out by special units of the Coordination Center of the Attica Region and the Medical Association of Athens, that have carried out over 3,000 sampling tests in the Region in the last three months.
The coronavirus tests will be conducted from Sunday morning until the sunset.
At the same time, volunteers from the Attica Region will distribute information material with precautionary instructions for the non-spread of the epidemic, informing in detail the travelers about the risks of transmission of COVID -19 in the community. Emphasis is placed on cases of asymptomatic carriers and activities that during the trip may have exposed citizens to an increased risk of transmitting the disease.
Sampling tests will be randomized.
Of the 204 new cases confirmed on Thurday, 64 are detected located in Attica. 82 Covid-19 patients are hospitalized in the reference hospitals of the Region.
The total number of cases August 1-12 amount 514, notes newspaper ethnos.
With coronavirus infections on dangerous upward trend, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Friday morning that additional measures to contain the spread of the virus will be announced today. The Premier said that there are infections in several tourist destinations.
The measures will be announced by head of Civil Protection Nikos Hardalias on Friday afternoon.
