Stelios Petsas

A hard lockdown is on the table for regions that have been unable to control transmission of the novel coronavirus and are struggling with hospital admissions, government spokesman Stelios Petsas indicated on Wednesday.

Greece expects to receive 300 thousand Covid-19 vaccine doses in the first tranche which means that 150,000 people will be vaccinated initially (vaccines will require two doses per patient), government spokesman Stelios Petsas told Parapolitika radio on Wednesday.

Petsas said that the immunisation program will be launched in December or January.

The European Union is taking "slow, albeit steady steps" toward pressuring Turkey to de-escalate tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean region, Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas said on Monday with regards to the conclusions of last week's European Council.

The government on Monday announced lockdown rules for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as well as for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Gatherings at homes will be limited to a maximum of nine people from two families, government spokesman Stelios Petsas said.

He added that the 10 p.m.-5 a.m. curfew will also apply.

As expected, the government on Friday announced the opening of some retailers, albeit in what has been described as a hybrid form to pose the least possible threat to health.

The bulk of Greece's lockdown measures will remain in place over the Christmas period although bookshops and hairdressers can reopen next week and the quarantine on people entering the country will be relaxed, authorities said Friday.

The mandatory precautionary quarantine of travelers flying into Greece between December 18 and January 7 has been reduced from the 10 days initially announced to three, according to government spokesman Stelios Petsas on Friday, who stressed that everyone must "show restraint and respect for common rules to limit the spread of the virus and prevent a third wave." 

Greek authorities have announced that bookshops and hairdressers will be allowed to open as of next Monday, while all other retail stores, entertainment venues, restaurants, bars and cafes will remain shut throughout the Christmas period as part of the country's second lockdown.

Greek authorities have announced that bookshops and hairdressers will be allowed to open as of next Monday, while all other retail stores, entertainment venues, restaurants, bars and cafes will remain shut throughout the Christmas period as part of the country's second lockdown.

Ahead of Friday's relevant announcements by the government, the chances that retail stores will open sooner rather than later appear slim after the committee of infectious disease experts sounded the alarm Thursday over the unrelenting pressure on the health system.