“The PM did not violate any lockdown rules, exercise within prefecture allowed” says his office

Interesting. Greek prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis did not violate lockdown restrictions during a mountain bike ride last weekend. And this “because exercise activities and walks would be allowed within the prefecture one lives in,” his office said in a statement to euronews.

Sadly neither the police that imposes 300-euro fines, nor the citizens who receive them are aware of this lockdown exception.

We had to learn about it after euronews wrote a post about the meanwhile worldwide famous incident in which Mitsotakis was pictured with a group of five motorcyclists last Sunday, Nov 29. None of them wore a mask or respected the social-distancing rules.

Together with his wife, the PM was on Mt Parnitha, 45 km away from home.

The picture went viral on social media, however, very few mainstream media posted it and certainly no TV broadcaster.

Main left-wing opposition party Syriza accused the prime minister of “breaking the lockdown without protective measures”, while at the same time calling on citizens to show “individual responsibility” and respect the restrictions. Tsipras also accused Mitsotakis of “lack of empathy for citizens who are not allowed to move” away from their homes.

In a statement to Euronews, the press office of Mitsotakis said the PM was entitled to travel within the Athens region.

“During the first lockdown in Greece, in March and April of this year, the government mandated that exercise only be allowed in the proximity of one’s home.

“For this second lockdown this guidance was updated and the government outlined that exercise activities and walks would be allowed in a broader region, but that they must be limited to the prefecture one lives in.”

On November 5, Prime Minister Mitsotakis noted that the country would be more flexible with citizens wanting to exercise during the second lockdown as long as basic rules are obeyed.

“The rules in Greece outline that Greeks are allowed to travel within their prefecture, which is what the Prime Minister did,” according to euronews.

So why police still fines citizens exercising away from home?

I propose anyone feeling insecure about exercise activities during the lockdown, should take a screen shot of PM’s office statement to euronews and show it to next policeman who wants to impose a fine.

PS The PM’s office obviously did not make any reference to the no use of mask. That’s another story… It is also interesting that Mitsotakis’ office did not bother to make a relevant statement to Greek press and clear the ‘unclear’ issue.