Stelios Petsas

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has tested negative for the coronavirus, alternate government spokesperson Aristotelia Peloni told a news briefing on Monday.

Peloni was asked whether Mitsotakis underwent the test as he has been in contact with government spokesman Stelios Petsas who has been in self-isolation since his wife tested positive for the virus. 

Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas announced on Friday that his wife had tested positive to the new coronavirus and has been quarantined.

In a message posted on his Facebook page, Petsas said the test showed he himself had not contracted Covid-19 but will deliver his daily press briefing and carry out his duties from home. 

Government spokesman Stelios Petsas on Thursday said that the authorities will take "every measure" to contain the spread of the new coronavirus "before it becomes necessary," but also urged citizens to act responsibly as well.

With troops and police deployed at Greece's Evros land border with Turkey successfully fending off thousands of migrants bused there by Turkish authorities, Greek officials appear convinced that Ankara is now pursuing a confrontation with Greece in the Aegean.

Greece's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday summoned Turkey's ambassador in Athens, Burak Ozugergin, after a video posted on the Shipping Ministry's website showed the harassment of a Greek Coast Guard boat by a Turkish vessel in early morning hours near Kos.

The Greek government has been holding migrants incommunicado at a secret extrajudicial before illegally expelling them back to Turkey without due process, as part of several hard-line measures to seal its border, contravening international law.

The Aegean has been placed in a state of alert as Athens fears that Turkey may, under the guise of migrant search and rescue operations, instigate provocations on Greek islets.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continued his incendiary rhetoric yesterday, saying that "one day [Greeks] may find themselves in a situation where they will have to seek compassion."

Greek army and police patrols have used tear gas and stun grenades in an attempt to stop thousands of refugees pouring into the country.

"France is ready to offer assistance to protect EU borders" said French president Macron. With the worsening situation in the Syrian province of Idlib, Turkey says it will no longer be able to restrict migrant and refugee flows and open its borders with the EU.

Greece has said that video footage allegedly showing a Syrian refugee shot dead near the Evros border is "fake news."
"Video showing fatality on Greek-Turkish border is fake news. We call upon everyone to use caution when reporting news that furthers Turkish propaganda," government spokesman Stelios Petsas tweeted.