Fighting COVID surge, popular Greek island put on curfew

By Magda Panoutsopoulou

ATHENS (AA) - After a surge in COVID-19 infections, Greece on Saturday banned music in restaurants and bars on a popular Aegean island, along with a new nighttime curfew.

Mykonos, a popular tourist destination known for its lively nightlife, will be placed on a curfew as of Saturday until July 26 after infections quadrupled in a week’s time, reaching 418 cases on Friday from 65 just nine days earlier.

The curfew lasts from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. – formerly busy hours for the tourist-friendly island – with exceptions only for work and serious health reasons.

Music will also be banned as of Saturday 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. on Monday, when new data will be evaluated.

"We call on residents, visitors and professionals of our beautiful island to observe the measures faithfully … so that the spread of the virus is controlled and contained soon and Mykonos returns to normalcy," said Nikos Hardalias, the deputy civil protection minister for crisis management.

On Twitter, Alexis Tsipras, an opposition leader and former premier, blasted the need for the new restrictions, calling them “proof of abject failure.”

Greece registered 2,562 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, the National Public Health Organization said on Saturday.

Since the pandemic began, Greece has confirmed 455,754 infections.

Seven more deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours, bringing the total of pandemic victims to 12,840.