Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to announce new measures on curbing the spread of the coronavirus during a televised address to the nation on Thursday evening, after a worrying increase in the number of positive cases.
PM Mitsotakis held a meeting with President Katerina Sakellaropoulou in the morning and briefed her on the development of the pandemic in Greece.
“We are facing a second wave of the pandemic, and we are still doing better than other European countries, but this is no great comfort,” said Mitsotakis, adding that he will address the Greek people in the afternoon on “where we are and which additional measures we will take.”
He referred to the situation that exists in schools, stressing that the virus has not particularly spread in such institutions because “basic safety measures, such as the mask, are reverently observed.”
Ενημέρωσα την Πρόεδρο της Δημοκρατίας για την πορεία του κορωνοϊού. Βρισκόμαστε πια αντιμέτωποι με ένα δεύτερο κύμα και σήμερα θα απευθυνθώ στους Έλληνες πολίτες, να εξηγήσω πού βρισκόμαστε και ποια είναι τα πρόσθετα μέτρα που πρέπει να λάβουμε. https://t.co/Ng0UjMPFPt pic.twitter.com/acILXQPQUD
— Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) October 22, 2020
President Sakellaropoulou called on Greeks to demonstrate social responsibility.
“The virus strikes all of society collectively and society has to collectively defend itself. The measures are not a restriction of our freedom, but are intended to protect others. That is the crucial point. We are moving away from the issue of individual responsibility and moving on to social responsibility. It is very crucial that this is understood,” she said.
On Wednesday a shocking 865 cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the country. This was by far the highest number of Covid-19 cases recorded in Greece in a one-day period since the start of the pandemic. The previous record, set just this past Tuesday, was 667 new cases.
Greek Deputy Minister for Civil Protection Nikos Chardalias announced new emergency anti-virus measures to Northern Greece, which has noted a sharp increase in virus cases recently.