News Desk
The government of Greece has announced a new nationwide lockdown due to the exponential growth of Covid19 cases over the last week.
The announcement has been made by the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in a televised address on Thursday. He said, “I opt to take drastic measures sooner rather than later. I will not put the lives of our citizens at risk. We saw a significant increase in hospital admissions, in patients in ICUs, a bad ratio of admissions and discharges.”
According to Russia Today report, Greece registered nearly 10,000 Covid19 cases in five days. The new nationwide lockdown will start from Saturday and all unnecessary movement will be prohibited. The masses will have to notify authorities by email or SMS on their movements, which are limited to trips to work or visiting a doctor or someone who requires care. People will also be allowed to leave home to purchase food or medicine, exercise or walk their dog.
The Greek government decided to leave kindergartens and primary schools open. However, secondary schools will have to introduce distance learning. Retail businesses will be shut, with the exception of supermarkets and pharmacies.
The Covid19 cases were fewer in Greece as compared to other European states due to the first nationwide lockdown it imposed in February. Authorities started to gradually lift restrictions in May.
The government has been slammed by the opposition party Syriza for failing to prepare for the second wave and support the health system and businesses.
