January 30 According to the Greek China-Greece Times, on the evening of the 29th local time, the Greek National Public Health Organization announced that there were 941 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Greece in the past 24 hours.
At present, a total of 155,678 cases have been confirmed. On the same day, there were 22 new deaths, with a total of 5,764 deaths.
The Greek government announced on the 29th that due to the severe pandemic situation, the authorities decided to raise the pandemic risk level to the highest red level in Attica, where the capital Athens is located, and nine other regions of the country.
This is also the first time that Athens has “red alert” since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020. From January 30th to February 8th, 2021 local time, stricter restrictions will be imposed in all areas with red pandemic risk levels in Greece.
After that, the health department will reassess the pandemic situation.
Greek Prime Minister Mizotakis said at the cabinet working meeting on the 28th that the government will not wait for the pandemic to worsen before making a “positive” response.
He stressed that the government has been paying close attention to the development of the pandemic and timely introducing necessary measures.
When the pandemic eases, some economic and social activities will resume, and corresponding restrictions will be implemented when the pandemic rebounds.
Mizotakis’ speech also reflects the way the Greek government dealt with the second wave of the pandemic, that is, to introduce stricter prevention and control policies before the pandemic worsens significantly.
On the issue of vaccine supply in the EU, Mizotakis said he was pleased that the European Commission had listened to the advice of many EU leaders and was working harder and actively to negotiate with large vaccine manufacturers in the hope of increasing the supply.
Regarding the progress of Greece’s vaccination program, he said that Greece has completed 221,000 vaccinations, and the people’s willingness to vaccinate is high, which has enabled Greece to make full use of the vaccine doses received from the EU without a large amount of wasted vaccines.
Sipsas, a professor of infectious diseases and a member of the government expert committee at the University of Athens, said on the 29th that the current measures were introduced in the hope that the pandemic situation in the capital area will not get worse and then get out of control.
He pointed out that the occupancy rate of intensive care units in the hospital for COVID-19 patients in Attica has reached 60%, and the admission rate of confirmed patients with COVID-19 has also increased.
“Nobody wants to see the Attica region at the mercy of the pandemic,” he said.
Although kindergarten and primary schools are open, experts believe that younger children are less likely to be infected than older students, which is why schools at secondary and above are still closed so far.
But some experts insist that the start date of high school, originally scheduled for February 1, should be postponed by one week.
Greek Deputy Minister of Education Macri said on January 29 that middle and high schools in Greece will still open on February 1, but high schools in areas with severe pandemic will remain closed, and students will learn remotely through the Internet.
High school in the red risk level area will make recommendations based on epidemiological data after one week.
On the other hand, some experts have previously suggested that the retail industry should be considered immediately.
In response, Greek Minister of Development and Investment, Georgiatis, said that even if it is listed in the highest risk level, retail stores in Attica will not be completely closed.
He pointed out that the market must continue to operate, but sales activities will be carried out strictly with pandemic prevention measures.
At the same time, he stressed that since Attica was included in the “red area”, additional measures were needed for specific commercial activities, and the Ministry has now formulated corresponding plans.
