Greece is temporarily freezing plans to introduce new restrictive measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus because citizens are fatigued, government spokesman Stelios Petsas said on Friday morning. He even announced that the government may consider to extend the operation of restaurants, bars and similar facilities until 1 o’ clock in the morning, yet in consultation with the health experts.
Speaking to Skai TV, Petsas said that no measures will be announced on Friday, as it was widely expected.
The new measures that health authorities were expected to announce on Friday would target the regional unit of Attica and the Greek capital Athens, where the majority of the daily new cases are recorded in the last couple of weeks.
Petsas added that the measures currently being implemented are now “too many.” He recalled the recommendation by the World Health Organization that citizens are getting tired of the measures.
“Burdening continuously the population with [new] measures and not focusing on their faithful observance will be problematic and possibly backfire,” he underlined.
He pointed out that Greece has an increase in new cases like other countries, but the situation remains stable.
He admitted that “there is a pressure in Attica,” but the Health Ministry is increasing the number of intensive care units.
“Today we see a lot of cases originating from the workplace,” he said.
Even though no additional restriction are considered, Petsas stressed that one of the measures the government will take into consideration is “the mandatory use of face masks outdoors in case of an outbreak in the future.”
he added, thought, that the currently the situation is stable.
