Greece to impose restrictions as COVID-19 cases rise

By Magda Panoutsopoulou

ATHENS (AA) - The prime minister of Greece said Thursday that new measures will take effect Sunday because of a continuous surge in coronavirus cases.

A curfew will begin 00:30 to 05:00 (2130 GMT to 0100GMT) Sunday in areas currently under a Level-3 alert for increased monitoring and the highest, Level 4, for increased threat.

During a televised nationwide address, Kyriakos Mitsotakis called the measure "the vaccine before the vaccine" and noted that wearing a face mask is mandatory in all indoor public areas in Greece.

"From now on a mask is required to enter a cafe or restaurant. The mask can only be taken off after we are seated" he said.

Greece saw another rise in infections Thursday with 882 new cases.

The National Public Health Organization said from the new cases, 99 are linked to known clusters and 52 were identified at entry points to the country.

Total infections since the first wave climbed to 28,216, of which 3,728 are related to travel abroad and 11,032 to already confirmed cases.

Ninety patients are currently intubated.

Another 15 people also died, bringing fatalities to 549.