Mask

As the coronavirus restrictions put much in the way of economic activity on ice, many Greek enterprises chose not to shut down but rather to shift their production to products required in the pandemic.

A C-27J Spartan airship of the Romanian Air Force took off at 9.00 a.m. on Saturday from Otopeni Air Base 90, heading for Spain, transporting 90,000 FFP-type protection masks, the Ministry of National Defence reported.

As the government prepares to start easing restrictions on movement next week, Health Ministry spokesman Sotiris Tsiodras underlined the importance of wearing face masks in closed public areas to avert the spread of the coronavirus and said health authorities are working on an infomercial with instructions on how to make them.

The mandatory wearing of face masks and other protective clothing at open-air public places has been revoked by an order issued by Bulgaria's Health Minister Kiril Ananiev, Bulgaria's Healthcare Ministry has announced, BNR reported.

Starting Monday, "passenger assistants" will be deployed at 45 Athens metro stations to remind passengers to put on their masks and to make sure there is no overcrowding, Transport Minister Costas Karamanlis told TV station Ant1 Thursday.

The United States reported its millionth coronavirus case as hard-hit European countries took tentative steps towards lifting lockdowns, with masks mandatory in all German shops from April 29.    

Excitement over a move towards normality in many places was tempered by fear of new outbreaks and growing evidence of the economic devastation wreaked by the pandemic.    

Authorities on Crete said on Tuesday that they had received a donation of 3,000 high-quality surgical masks from the Chinese Province of Hainan.
Crete's Regional Governor Stavros Arnaoutakis described the gift as "an act of humanitarianism and solidarity," adding that it showed that "the power of cooperation, of contribution and of protecting public health know no bounds."

President Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey will send medical gear including protective suits and masks to the United States on Tuesday to help its efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

Prime Minister Ludovic Orban on Monday stated that wearing masks will be compulsory in the enclosed public areas as long as needed, depending on the evolution of the spreading of the novel coronavirus in Romania. "The masks will only be compulsory in the enclosed spaces: when we enter a store, when we board a public transportation means, at the workplace, if it's an enclosed area.

With the easing of lockdown restrictions imminent, the Health Ministry has decided in favor of the mandatory use of face masks - except in cases where medical conditions do not allow it - in closed crowded places such as grocery stores, hospitals, clinics, hairdressers etc.