Alarm in Xanthi after spike in Covid-19 cases

Deputy Minister for Civil Protection Nikos Hardalias and the government's special adviser on the coronavirus crisis, Sotiris Tsiodras, were traveling to the northern Greek region of Xanthi on Friday with a team from the National Organization for Public Health (EODY) following an outbreak of Covid-19 cases.

The visit comes a day after the General Secretariat for Civil Protection announced restrictions for the region of Xanthi in northeastern Greece after 15 coronavirus infections were reported there in one day while imposing a curfew on the village of Echinos, where most of the cases were traced.

Residents of Echinos will be prohibited from leaving their homes between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. for the next seven days during which period all primary schools and kindergartens will be closed and the use of a face mask will be compulsory in public places. In the...