The Greek government announced that Thessaloniki, the country’s second largest city, and the city of Serres, will be placed on a lockdown starting on Tuesday morning to stem the spike of the coronavirus cases.
Government spokesman, Stelios Petsas, said the decision was taken following the worsening situation in Thessaloniki over the last week. Almost 1,300 new cases were recorded in the city over the weekend.
“The Prime Minister spoke on the phone with Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias and decided to impose a local lockdown in the regions of Thessaloniki and Serres from 06:00 on Tuesday and for the next 15 days,” Petsas said.
Kikilias, who visited Thessaloniki on Monday, said that “The epidemic is spreading rapidly in Thessaloniki,” stressing that some people who do not abide by the restrictions are risking the lives of many. “I understand,” said the health minister, “the stress and fatigue some may experience, but public health is above all.”
The new measures include the re-introduction of SMS messages for movement outside home. Churches, bars, restaurants, cinemas, theatres and most retail shops will be shut down. Additionally, there will be a curfew from 21:00 until 05:00 in the morning, with only movements for reasons of health or work excepted.
In this context, all non-essential domestic and international flights to Thessaloniki’s Makedonia airport will be prohibited.
Only schools will be left open.
A key driver the decision to impose the new measures was the increasing pressure on intensive care units.
In Thessaloniki occupancy at ICUs rose from 10 to 60 percent within a week and there were fears that Covid patients from northern Greece would have to be sent to Athens hospitals, where occupancy is at around 50 to 60 percent.
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